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 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
  • The symptoms are so delayed that people often blame them on food poisoning, irritable-bowel syndrome, gluten intolerance.
    — Burkhard Bilger, New Yorker, 29 June 2026
  • Cancer could be affectionate and chatty one moment, and withdrawn and irritable the next, with little to no explanation.
    — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 23 June 2026
Definition of irritable
Adjective
  • Bowles told jurors Millete was angry at May over her yearlong affair with another man and likely poisoned her with the toxic plant hemlock.
    — Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 July 2026
  • Yet over our two days together in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, El-Sayed rarely comes across as angry.
    — Nik Popli, Time, 8 July 2026
Definition of angry
Adjective
  • Principle photography is underway in London, with Jurassic Park star Jeff Goldblum sharing his memories of contending with Winston’s cantankerous Tyrannosaurus Rex.
    — Matthew Carey, Deadline, 29 June 2026
  • The pièce de résistance is Belle’s willingness to engage with a cantankerous lion-man who has an outrageous temper, thanks to the chip on his very large shoulder.
    — Lincee Ray, Entertainment Weekly, 25 June 2026
Definition of cantankerous
Adjective
  • Leach also would publicly call out his players and could get ornery when questioned about his team’s shortcomings.
    — Ralph D. Russo, New York Times, 2 June 2026
  • The rabbi is ornery, arrogant, sometimes cruel.
    — Daniel Felsenthal, Vulture, 26 Mar. 2026
Definition of ornery
Adjective
  • 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
  • The disagreeable object proved no match for the most fertile person in Montana.
    — Jonathan Franzen, New Yorker, 1 June 2026
Definition of disagreeable
Adjective
  • Better is Danny Elfman’s spartan and fraught score, particularly the dyspeptic drums.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 8 Jan. 2026
  • But Kael sensed in her less dyspeptic moments that there was something special about Redford.
    — Stephen Galloway, HollywoodReporter, 18 Sep. 2025
Definition of dyspeptic
Adjective
  • Kara Zor-El, the cynical, surly protagonist of the new Supergirl movie, has a very different attitude than her goody two-shoes cousin, Clark Kent.
    — James Grebey, Time, 26 June 2026
  • Or a surly, vengeful Robin Hood, by Kevin Costner.
    — Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 11 June 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
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Ill-tempered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ill-tempered. Accessed 13 Jul. 2026.

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