View synonyms for temperamental

temperamental

[ tem-per-uh-men-tl, -pruh-men-, -per-men- ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adjective

having or exhibiting a strongly marked, individual temperament.
moody, irritable, or sensitive:
a temperamental artist.
Synonyms: emotional, volatile, excitable
given to erratic behavior; unpredictable.
of or relating to temperament; constitutional:
temperamental differences.

temperamental

/ -prəˈmɛntəl; ˌtɛmpərəˈmɛntəl /

easily upset or irritated; excitable; volatile
of, relating to, or caused by temperament
informal.
working erratically and inconsistently; unreliable
a temperamental sewing machine

First recorded in 1640–50; temperament + -al ¹

Both a rocket engine with a temperamental record and an airframe of revolutionary design and construction had to be proved safe.

His father could be temperamental and misogynistic, but the family was never plagued with major money-laundering or sex scandals.

In addition to his temperamental aversion to populism, Roosevelt also had a practical reason to be cautious.

There, Armstrong became famous for flying the dangerous and temperamental X-15 rocket plane.

If a writer is by definition a temperamental soul, than a Russian writer represents perhaps a most temperamental soul.

But they have not the invincible carelessness or temperamental springiness of the old lot—and how should they?

So temperamental a creature as Sylvia would be prone to exaggerate a situation.

She bore him one child, Rebecca, of a temperamental nature, and of deep piety like her mother.

I believe he is incapable of cruelty—physical, mental, or temperamental—quite incapable of it.

And now she will begin on her eternal subject: a dead friend who was done to death by her husband's temperamental cruelty.

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