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phlegmatical

phlegmatical

9.9
Calm and not easily excited or upset
  • adjective
  • /flɛɡˈmætɪkəl/
  • Archaic
translation icon : flemático
  • Despite the chaos around him, the phlegmatical doctor remained unfazed and continued his work.

Examples

  • Her phlegmatical response to the shocking news surprised everyone in the room.

  • The phlegmatical expression on his face made it hard to tell what he was really feeling.

  • He remained phlegmatical during the crisis.

  • Her phlegmatical demeanor surprised everyone.

  • Despite the chaos around him, the phlegmatical doctor remained unfazed and continued his work.

  • Her phlegmatical response to the shocking news surprised everyone in the room.

  • The phlegmatical expression on his face made it hard to tell what he was really feeling.

Synonyms

impassive
vsphlegmatical
11 7.1

Not showing any feeling on the face or in the voice

may be calm but can still feel emotion without showing it
unemotional
vsphlegmatical
11 4.4

Not showing strong feelings

is similar but also hard to excite emotionally
phlegmatic
vsphlegmatical
1 8.8

Calm and not showing strong feelings in difficult situations

is the same meaning but uses an alternate adjective ending
unhysterical
vsphlegmatical
1 6.8

Calm and not showing strong or out of control feelings in a stressful situation

is calmer overall and not only in stressful situations
unexcitable
vsphlegmatical
6.7

Calm and not easily made nervous or emotional

is calm too but more generally shows little emotion rather than only resistance to excitement
athymic
vsphlegmatical
  • Specialized
9.9

Not showing much feeling

is calm and unexcitable but still has normal emotional capacity

Antonyms

535 2.1

Showing strong feelings that are easy to see

14 4.1

Quick to become excited or nervous

How Calm

impassive
11 7.1
unflappable
9 7.4
phlegmatical
  • Archaic
9.9
calm
735 1.0

Surface Forms

phlegmatical positive
phlegmaticaler comparative
phlegmaticalest superlative

Morphology

phlegmatical = phlegmatic (transparent) = phlegmatic + al

The adjective is formed from 'phlegmatic' with the productive suffix '-al' and retains the same core meaning, so learners familiar with 'phlegmatic' will readily understand it.

Etymology

Phlegmatical comes from the Greek word phlegma, which meant 'phlegm' and was one of the body's fluids in old medicine. People thought too much phlegma made someone slow and calm, so phlegmatical now means calm and not easily excited.