ill-tempered

adjective

ˈil-ˈtem-pərd How to pronounce ill-tempered (audio)
Definition of ill-temperednext
as in irritable
having or showing a habitually bad temper an ill-tempered cat will scratch with little provocation

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 ill-tempered The game was notoriously ill-tempered, with English referee Howard Webb showing 14 yellow cards — a World Cup final record that still stands. — Amelie Claydon, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2026 Mbappé’s penalty proved the difference in a bruising and ill-tempered match as France won 1-0 in Philadelphia on Saturday to advance to the quarterfinals. — Reuters, NBC news, 7 July 2026 Simultaneously good-humored and ill-tempered in that quintessentially French fashion, Gabrielle is indeed shouldering a crushing amount of responsibility. — Jon Frosch, HollywoodReporter, 13 May 2026 Speaking with candor, Russell immediately addresses Kilmer’s reputation for being ill-tempered on set early in his career. — Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 2 Apr. 2025 On balance, however, Billy Wagner, an imposing 6-foot-6 and 275 pounds, came off as brash and blustery, foul-mouthed and ill-tempered in witness testimony. — Patricia Gallagher Newberry, The Enquirer, 12 Dec. 2024 If the person in charge is ill-tempered, thrives on conflict, and easily persuaded, problems are made worse. — Matthew Continetti, National Review, 27 May 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ill-tempered
  1. irritable
  2. angry
  3. cantankerous
  4. ornery
  5. disagreeable
  6. dyspeptic
  7. surly
  8. splenetic
Adjective
  • As the fascination with Ernetti grows into something unhealthy, Béatrice subtly grows more tired, more distracted, more irritable and desperate for answers, small changes Sellier conveys with a smart sense of restraint.
    — Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 2 Sep. 2026
  • The product immediately calmed down my irritable, rosacea-prone skin while delivering intense hydration that lasted all day.
    — Gina Vaynshteyn, StyleCaster, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of irritable
Adjective
  • Why would anyone want to do this in a game about an angry, unkillable mutant with claws sharp enough to cut through space-time?
    — Gabriel Zamora, PC Magazine, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Seehorn carried a heavy load as its lead, playing a sad, angry woman forced to save the world from happiness and the hive mind.
    — Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of angry
Adjective
  • Beneath the song's upbeat melody and the movie's cantankerous humor, both deliver a powerful message that women deserve equal pay and treatment in the workplace.
    — Kamaron McNair, CNBC, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Slow Horses stars Oldman as Lamb, a brilliant but cantankerous leader of dysfunctional spies who have made career-ending mistakes and end up at a dumping ground MI5 unit known as Slough House.
    — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of cantankerous
Adjective
  • The new movie follows a benevolent ex-pilot named Hig (Jacob Elordi) who, after losing his wife during a catastrophic global pandemic, lives out in the wilderness with his dog, Jasper, and ornery isolationist pal Bangley (Josh Brolin).
    — Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2026
  • In the show, Kyle Chandler plays Hal Jordan, an ornery Green Lantern who is begrudgingly training his upstart protégé (Aaron Pierre).
    — Jordan Moreau, Variety, 16 July 2026
Definition of ornery
Adjective
  • Mistaking being disagreeable with the act of disagreeing is common - especially in unsafe psychological workplaces.
    — Kate Wieczorek, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
  • There are also a lot of people who have never dreamed of being disagreeable in public, much less considered joining a raucous social movement.
    — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 12 June 2026
Definition of disagreeable
Adjective
  • Govan might prevail on Lucas to join as well, as an idiosyncratic and dyspeptic if public-minded voice.
    — Gary Baum, HollywoodReporter, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Better is Danny Elfman’s spartan and fraught score, particularly the dyspeptic drums.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 8 Jan. 2026
Definition of dyspeptic
Adjective
  • The United States is now a reluctant international donor and a surly member of key international organizations.
    — Anna Nelson, Foreign Affairs, 4 Sep. 2026
  • The Jordan that the audience gets to know is a bit surly and self-centered.
    — Tracy Brown, Los Angeles Times, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of surly
Adjective
  • Still, the internet nurtures these Hobbesian, splenetic views.
    — Annie Lowrey, The Atlantic, 24 May 2026
  • Meanwhile, the commentator and controversialist Piers Morgan, an obsessively close observer and relentless critic of Meghan, inevitably waded in with his usual splenetic views.
    — Sarah Lyall, New York Times, 17 Sep. 2022
Definition of splenetic

Browse Nearby Words

ill-starred
ill-tempered
ill-treat
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Cite this Entry

“Ill-tempered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ill-tempered. Accessed 14 Sep. 2026.

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