bad temper
20
3.4
- noun
- /bæd ˈtɛmpər/
- Her bad temper made it difficult for her to maintain friendships.
- a very bad temper
- control your bad temper
- a really bad temper
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Watch on YouTubeThat's a good angle though because I used to get throw fits, I had a bad temper and I'd smash trophies in my room.
- That's a good angle though because I used to get throw fits, I had a bad temper and I'd smash trophies in my room.
- If you have a bad temper and blow up at people for stupid things, well, then honesty would demand that you actually acknowledge that.
- I'm going to curb my bad temper that I have.
- Sometimes you don't experience that bad temper as far as it being directed to you.
Examples
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The guy's got a bad temper.
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I also pray that no one does me wrong; I have a bad temper.
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I got a real bad temper.
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How often have others told you that you had a bad temper?
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I do have a bad temper that I have to pray a lot about and keep in check.
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- He's got a bad temper.
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I've a very bad temper sometimes.
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His wife's got a bad temper.
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He is known for his bad temper.
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Jack Hawkins is the latest owner of club INFINITY and a man of renowned bad temper.
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Synonyms
291
3.6
A sudden short burst of anger
12
4.2
Being easily annoyed or quick to become angry
9
4.1
Getting angry or losing patience very quickly
5
4.6
A bad mood that makes someone easily angry
4
9.0
Being easily annoyed and acting childish
4
3.9
To become angry easily or suddenly
2
4.1
A feeling of being easily annoyed
1
9.9
A tendency to be easily annoyed and hard to control
1
9.3
A tendency to become angry quickly
1
9.2
A habit of being bad-tempered and hard to get along with
1
9.9
A tendency to become angry easily
1
7.3
Getting angry quickly and acting without thinking
A tendency to get angry very quickly
Antonyms
How Irritable
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a tendency to become angry easily' is directly and predictably built from 'bad' (negative/poor) + 'temper' (emotional state or disposition), so a learner who knows both words can readily infer the MWE sense. This compositional pattern is common across languages and follows standard adjective + noun modification, making it immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner.
Etymology
The phrase bad temper comes from an older use of temper to mean 'mood' or how someone feels. Imagine a pot that boils over — when a person's temper is 'bad' they quickly explode in anger, so the phrase means 'gets angry easily'.