HOT-TEMPERED Synonyms: 102 Similar and Opposite Words

hot-tempered

adjective

Definition of hot-tempered

as in antagonistic

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of hot-tempered In addition, teens who are dealing with intense emotions that are hard to cope with are often hot-tempered and easily irritated. — Staff Author, Parents, 9 Mar. 2026 What is the strategy for living with someone who is exceedingly hot-tempered? — R. Eric Thomas, Mercury News, 25 Oct. 2025 The movie co-stars Albert Finney as an acclaimed and hot-tempered writer named George and Keaton as Faith, the wife and mother of his children, who gave up her own dreams to support him, only to get thrown over for a younger woman (Karen Allen). — Matt Zoller Seitz, Vulture, 12 Oct. 2025 Robbie is a complicated man, at once incredibly compassionate and deeply self-centered, philosophical and brooding but also impulsive and hot-tempered. — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for hot-tempered

Recent Examples of Synonyms for hot-tempered

Adjective

When Meloni came into office as the leader of a political party with post-fascist roots, she had been expected to be antagonistic toward Europe and extreme in her views on foreign policy.

— ABC News, ABC News, 13 Aug. 2026
African-American architecture is usually in environments antagonistic to their existence or contributions.

— Kamal Morgan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Aug. 2026

Definition of antagonistic

Adjective

The high risk of – and challenges of addressing – oil spills and other safety incidents in the hostile Arctic climate are another dissuading factor, as are environmental costs of operating there.

— Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2026
The episode picks up when Bret and Robert have their first tense interaction — their vaguely hostile and lightly homoerotic back-and-forth continues to be the highlight of the show for me.

— Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of hostile

Adjective

There’s the slick, glad-handing publisher of Hamptons magazine, and the feisty Citarella market scion who would love to have her picture featured in its pages.

— Naomi Fry, New Yorker, 15 Aug. 2026
But neither the feisty spirit of Olive Penderghast nor the tragic legacy of Hester Prynne can be found anywhere near Gluck’s baffling interpretation of Braun’s once-promising tale.

— Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 5 Aug. 2026

Definition of feisty

Adjective

However, his team describes Fred as a tyrant, who is uncaring and belligerent and micro-manages everything.

— Mary Crossan, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026
Per the title, Aang is the last surviving airbender after his pacifist brethren were slaughtered by a belligerent, expansionist Fire Nation.

— Alison Herman, Variety, 24 July 2026

Definition of belligerent

Adjective

Though less overtly pugnacious than the other main far-right cabinet member, Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, with whom he is often compared, Smotrich has used his time in office to ramp up settlement building.

— Reuters, NBC news, 7 Aug. 2026
Indeed, his rising profile as a pugnacious public commentator has arguably exceeded his influence on Wall Street.

— Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 20 July 2026

Definition of pugnacious

Adjective

As Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's politics have evolved — from combative outsider to pragmatic establishment leader — so, too, has her fashion sensibility.

— ABC News, ABC News, 13 Aug. 2026
Now Brattin, a former chairman of the Missouri Freedom Caucus, could become the third member from the combative conservative caucuses to reach Capitol Hill.

— Jack Harvel August 12, Kansas City Star, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of combative

Adjective

Volatile, quarrelsome, dogmatic, and sure of his own brilliance, Reinhold outraged patrons, amassed huge debts, and turned his eldest son into an exhausted workhorse.

— Jenny Uglow, The New York Review of Books, 4 July 2026
The toys, like the perpetually quarrelsome Woody and Buzz or Jessie the cowgirl, who now takes center stage, have seen their boy and girl owners grow up and leave them behind.

— Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 16 June 2026

Definition of quarrelsome

Adjective

Nicole Del Valle Rose, an etiquette coach and founder of the Las Vegas consultancy Poised & Proper, says the most gracious response is often the least confrontational one.

— Angela Haupt, Time, 17 Aug. 2026
Neil recently wiped his Instagram account in order to throw up three confrontational posts.

— Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of confrontational

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hotted (up)

hot-tempered

hot ticket

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“Hot-tempered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hot-tempered. Accessed 19 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of hot-tempered

adjective

Example Sentences

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