bad-tempered
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of bad-tempered
First recorded in 1920–25
Explanation
Someone who's bad-tempered is cranky and surly. Your bad-tempered next door neighbor might spend the weekend yelling at kids, "Stay off of my lawn!" Oscar the Grouch is a good example of a bad-tempered Sesame Street character. Bad-tempered people are grouchy by nature, although you can have a bad-tempered day or an unusually bad-tempered reaction to some terrible news or a visit from your least favorite cousin. Your temper is your state of mind or your mood, so to be bad-tempered is to be in a bad mood.
Vocabulary lists containing bad-tempered
Negative Words to Describe People
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"The Legend of the Yakwawiak"
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Angry
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He chose that particular name because “it conjured up someone old-fashioned and bad-tempered lamenting the state of the world through the window of a London club while clutching his glass of port.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 6, 2026
In a bad-tempered session at the Covid inquiry, the former health secretary repeatedly criticised the line of questioning describing it as "naive", "hostile" and "inappropriate".
From BBC • Mar. 19, 2025
In testimony that was at times bad-tempered, De Niro dismissed Ms Robinson's suggestions that her time working for him was one of endless servitude, Deadline reported.
From BBC • Nov. 1, 2023
In Nigeria, for example, a small and bad-tempered snake called the West African carpet viper is responsible for most of the country's bites.
From Scientific American • Sep. 23, 2023
“My husband is often bad-tempered when he gets home, wrathful and grim of mind. He treats his guests badly,” the giantess warned them.
From "Norse Mythology" by Neil Gaiman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
