bad-tempered

[ bad-tem-perd ]

adjective

1. cross; cranky; surly; ill-tempered:

   a bad-tempered person.

bad-tempered

adjective

1. angry, irritable, or ungracious

Word History and Origins

Origin of bad-tempered¹

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

The result was therefore foul-mouthed and bad-tempered in proportion to the force it took to get through my wall of shyness.

From The Daily Beast

And still, the bad-tempered second half did not yield a goal.

From The Daily Beast

The nation is feeling even more bad tempered, broke and anxious than it did the weeks before.

From The Daily Beast

I don't think I could ever be content under a bad-tempered, sentimentalism, strenuous Government.

From Project Gutenberg

I've met him; he's a bad-tempered hypochondriac, a cynic at heart, and a man whose word is never doubted.

From Project Gutenberg

A bad-tempered woman is described as a "vixen," or female fox; a lazy person as a "drone," or the bee which does no work.

From Project Gutenberg

"He is always bad-tempered when we come to the Court," she said.

From Project Gutenberg

He's a bad-tempered brute, and I wonder the squire keeps it.

From Project Gutenberg