as in disease
an abnormal state that disrupts a plant's or animal's normal bodily functioning
contracted some tropical distemper while he was doing research in the jungles of Borneo
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to alarm
to trouble the mind of; to make uneasy
despite his career success, he has been distempered by nagging feelings of inadequacy his whole life
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of distemper
Sara Schilling, Sacramento Bee, 21 Jan. 2025
Ultimately, distemper went from being a widespread killer to a preventable disease.
—Danny Robb, JSTOR Daily, 15 Jan. 2025
Democratic dysfunction goes hand in hand with democratic distemper.
—John Micklethwait, Foreign Affairs, 29 May 2014
In addition to Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, the stray dogs have been implicated in cases of dog bites and rabies in people, and parvo and distemper in pets.
—Pien Huang, NPR, 15 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for distemper
Noun
In one case, a border collie was euthanized within a week of being adopted after it was diagnosed with aspiration pneumonia and distemper, prosecutors said.
—Sara Schilling, Sacramento Bee, 21 Jan. 2025
Ultimately, distemper went from being a widespread killer to a preventable disease.
—Danny Robb, JSTOR Daily, 15 Jan. 2025
Democratic dysfunction goes hand in hand with democratic distemper.
—John Micklethwait, Foreign Affairs, 29 May 2014
In addition to Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, the stray dogs have been implicated in cases of dog bites and rabies in people, and parvo and distemper in pets.
—Pien Huang, NPR, 15 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for distemper
Recent Examples of Synonyms for distemper
Noun
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The fungal disease does not spread from person to person, according to the CDC.—
Julia Gomez,
USA Today,
23 May 2025
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The Mayo Clinic says the disease is most often diagnosed when people are in their mid-60s.—
Christie D’Zurilla,
Los Angeles Times,
23 May 2025
Verb
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Democrats and some Republicans are also alarmed over the ethics of accepting such an expensive gift from a foreign country.—
Jeremy Bogaisky,
Forbes.com,
14 May 2025
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The rapid expansion of the Camp House Fire, Jenkins Creek Fire and Munger Shaw Fire has alarmed officials.—
Anna Skinner,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 May 2025
Noun
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With this move, the FDA will limit the vaccine’s availability later this year to older adults and those who may be at risk of severe illness, Reuters reported.—
Saleen Martin,
USA Today,
23 May 2025
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Advertisement Advertisement The group’s report presents four main drivers of chronic childhood illness, laying particular blame on the food children eat and their daily habits.—
Alana Semuels,
Time,
22 May 2025
Verb
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The student, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of being targeted by authorities, said she has been distressed to see the terminations even for students like her without criminal records.—
Jaweed Kaleem,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Apr. 2025
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Lawmakers found the sell-off in the bond markets especially distressing because of its implication for the broader economy.—
Alexander Bolton,
The Hill,
13 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The threadbare plot is set in motion when Tesfaye’s screen-self (henceforth referred to as Abel) loses his voice while touring, a real-life incident forced here into heavy-handed metaphor as an existential ailment symptomatic of his deeper issues with himself and women.—
Charles Bramesco,
IndieWire,
15 May 2025
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Djokovic struggled with his fitness and had a reputation for pulling out of matches with various ailments.—
Matthew Futterman,
New York Times,
15 May 2025
Verb
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However, some 3,000 years ago—around the transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age—newcomers to the area disturbed the burial site by removing parts of the mound and displacing stones.—
Eli Wizevich,
Smithsonian Magazine,
22 May 2025
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Solar flares can disturb Earth's ionosphere, for instance, briefly disrupting high-frequency radio signals and leading to brief radio blackouts on the daylit side of the planet during the flare event.—
Daisy Dobrijevic,
Space.com,
22 May 2025
Noun
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On one level, this flurry of proposals to ills that have been festering in California and domestically for years is more posturing than problem solving.—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
5 May 2025
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Protectionists presented tariffs as the essential policy to quicken the development of manufactures as well as a remedy to the social ills that afflicted the emerging industrial working class.—
Made by History,
Time,
28 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Or Xander Schauffele, the defending PGA champion who is surely not bothered by the lack of attention on him early this week.—
Brody Miller,
New York Times,
15 May 2025
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That doesn’t mean the implication doesn’t bother him.—
Jack Harris,
Los Angeles Times,
15 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Distemper.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/distemper. Accessed 27 May. 2025.
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