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peppery

American  
[pep-uh-ree] / ˈpɛp ə ri /

adjective

  1. full of or tasting like pepper; hot; pungent.

    Synonyms:
    spicy

  2. of, relating to, or resembling pepper.

  3. sharp or stinging.

    a peppery speech.
    Synonyms:
    biting

  4. easily angered; bad-tempered; irritable; irascible.

    the peppery leader of a political faction.
    Synonyms:
    choleric, testy, hot-tempered
peppery British  
/ ˈpɛpərɪ /

adjective

  1. flavoured with or tasting of pepper

  2. quick-tempered; irritable

  3. full of bite and sharpness

    a peppery speech
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • pepperily adverb
  • pepperiness noun
  • unpeppery adjective

Etymology

Origin of peppery

First recorded in 1690–1700; pepper + -y 1

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.