ill temper
1
4.6
- noun
- /ɪl ˈtɛmpər/
:
mal humor
- It is impossible to be ironic, or in a bad mood, or experience any kind of ill temper while square dancing.
Examples
-
"It sounded mild, but coming from a man of Pellinore's size and ill temper, it was serious enough.
Fiction book (1991) -
He sounds in ill temper tonight.
-
I was in an ill temper over another site.
Blog text (25) -
And that I will never again show ill temper in any way, shape, or form on a golf course.
-
Forgive the ill temper of my colleague.
-
It would explain the consistent panic and ill temper of the Obama campaign, while the Romney folks are upbeat and cheerful...
Blog text (18) -
Although Audrey (never a good actress) tries to appear friendly and casual—"show business"—her ill temper seethes just below the surface.
Fiction book (1990) -
Our children cowered upstairs, terrified by their father's ill temper.
-
Forgive the ill temper of my colleague.
-
Greg countered her ill temper with patience.
Synonyms
237
3.6
A sudden short burst of anger
14
3.4
A habit of getting angry easily and staying in a bad mood
8
4.2
Being easily annoyed or quick to become angry
3
4.1
Getting angry or losing patience very quickly
2
3.9
To become angry easily or suddenly
1
6.8
A bad mood when someone is angry or easily annoyed
1
9.3
A tendency to become angry quickly
A tendency to become angry easily
A habit of being angry and unpleasant to others
A tendency to get angry very quickly
Antonyms
How Angry
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a persistent state of irritability or anger' is directly and predictably derived from combining 'ill' (bad/negative) with 'temper' (mood or disposition), so a learner who knows both constituents can infer a 'bad' or 'negative' mood. This adjective+noun composition is common cross-linguistically and follows normal English patterns, making the expression transparent to B1 learners.
Etymology
Ill temper comes from the old idea that temper is a person's inner balance or usual mood and ill means 'bad'. So imagine someone's inner balance being wrong — that picture explains why ill temper means 'a bad or angry mood'.