as in irritable
having or showing a habitually bad temper
an ill-tempered cat will scratch with little provocation
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Recent Examples of ill-tempered
The president was depicted similarly to South Park’s depiction of Saddam Hussein in its 1999 feature-length movie, South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut: ill-tempered, conniving and cruel.
—
Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 24 July 2025
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
Lemon's interview with Musk delves into numerous topics, ranging from the entrepreneur's views on race to X's loss of advertisers over his antisemitic comments, with Musk growing increasingly ill-tempered with Lemon over the course of the discussion.
—Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 18 Mar. 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
Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 24 July 2025
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
Lemon's interview with Musk delves into numerous topics, ranging from the entrepreneur's views on race to X's loss of advertisers over his antisemitic comments, with Musk growing increasingly ill-tempered with Lemon over the course of the discussion.
—Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 18 Mar. 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
Adjective
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Lack of sleep can lead to a range of problems, including feeling more irritable.—
Michelle Mastro,
The Spruce,
7 Feb. 2026
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On the contrary, Juventus’ football soothed even the most irritable sections of the crowd.—
James Horncastle,
New York Times,
26 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Local sheriffs have stepped up their efforts to warn residents of wolf sightings, posting alerts on social media that have garnered hundreds of comments from both concerned residents and environmentalists angry that the animals are the focus of so much fear and anger.—
Sharon Bernstein,
Sacbee.com,
6 Feb. 2026
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When federal agents can show up at your store, detain your employees, raid your parking lot and audit your hiring records, the calculation about whether to criticize federal policy looks very different than when the worst-case scenario is an angry tweet from a politician.—
Alessandro Piazza,
Fortune,
5 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Lori Tan Chinn charms as a cantankerous Chinatown grandmother, while Jamie Lee Curtis makes a memorable meal of her single scene as a mob boss.—
Beandrea July,
IndieWire,
28 Jan. 2026
-
Ornery, bizarre, cantankerous, brilliant, talented, stubborn—all characters from our lives.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
There is the nonchalant athleticism that belies impeccable instincts and an ornery competitiveness.—
Dennis Lin,
New York Times,
23 Jan. 2026
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Sometimes he’d be sent out to deal with the more ornery guests in an effort to calm them.—
Stephanie Breijo,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The cold was biting at that hour, and people hurried about, thinking of autumn—a season as bitter and disagreeable as a sour apple that could nonetheless hold a beautiful day or two in store before the freeze set in, a sudden blue sky washed clean by the wind or rain.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Jan. 2026
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This danger is creating a modern sycophancy crisis in which the over-agreeableness of AI is leading to very disagreeable results.—
Arianna Huffington,
Time,
14 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Better is Danny Elfman’s spartan and fraught score, particularly the dyspeptic drums.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Jan. 2026
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But Kael sensed in her less dyspeptic moments that there was something special about Redford.—
Stephen Galloway,
HollywoodReporter,
18 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Mandating a coach keep a coordinator, particularly one with Schwartz’s surly reputation, seems counterintuitive — particularly to a young, first-time coach such as Scheelhaase.—
Jason Lloyd,
New York Times,
30 Jan. 2026
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Screenwriters Matthew Booi and Shelby Gaines weave subtle humor — and more overt racial politics — into the way the surly group engage with one another.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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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
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And while there is enough splenetic wit and manic detail to generate obsessive fandom (entire sections of Web sites are dedicated to deciphering just what Kenny is mumbling), subjects like alien abduction, genetic engineering, and Kathie Lee are hardly original targets for satire.—
Chris Norris,
SPIN,
13 Aug. 2022
Cite this Entry
“Ill-tempered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ill-tempered. Accessed 13 Feb. 2026.
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