as in irritable
easily irritated or annoyed
a quick-tempered man who invariably utters threats at any kids who wander into his yard
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Recent Examples of quick-tempered
Suwa is the band’s beloved transmasculine Korean American hero, glamorous and quick-tempered.
—
Literary Hub, 12 Mar. 2026
There was the woman who came to every meeting combative and quick-tempered (fight), the one who broke down in tears at every one-on-one and eventually took extended leave (flight), and the one who seemed paralyzed by the sheer volume of work (freeze).
—Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 7 Dec. 2024
Part of it had to do with Nguyen’s distant relationship with her father, a taciturn and quick-tempered man with whom the author had difficulty connecting.
—Barbara Spindel, The Christian Science Monitor, 12 Sep. 2023
Literary Hub, 12 Mar. 2026
There was the woman who came to every meeting combative and quick-tempered (fight), the one who broke down in tears at every one-on-one and eventually took extended leave (flight), and the one who seemed paralyzed by the sheer volume of work (freeze).
—Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 7 Dec. 2024
Part of it had to do with Nguyen’s distant relationship with her father, a taciturn and quick-tempered man with whom the author had difficulty connecting.
—Barbara Spindel, The Christian Science Monitor, 12 Sep. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for quick-tempered
Adjective
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Perhaps through feeling more irritable, more anxious, or wanting to isolate.—
Joy Harden Bradford,
AJC.com,
2 Apr. 2026
-
Had my symptoms maybe been put down to irritable bowel, for example, that could’ve been ongoing and ongoing and ongoing for a much longer period of time.—
Gina Kalsi,
PEOPLE,
2 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The fiery lawmaker, who leads the leftist Economic Freedom Fighters party, was charged alongside his bodyguards Anton Snyman, after the video of the incident went viral.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 Apr. 2026
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Mercury in your sign is lined up with Neptune, while your ruler fiery Mars gets a boost from Pluto.—
Georgia Nicols,
Denver Post,
16 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Quick-tempered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quick-tempered. Accessed 22 Apr. 2026.
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