quick-tempered
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of quick-tempered
First recorded in 1820–30
Explanation
When someone calls you quick-tempered, they mean that you get angry really easily. If you find yourself yelling at people several times a day, you may be quick-tempered — and you may want to take up meditation. Quick-tempered people are irritable and a little bit unpredictable. You could also describe them as "short-tempered" or "hot-tempered." Some people can laugh off things that irritate or aggravate them, or think them over thoughtfully, or just ignore them. Everyone else is quick-tempered. This adjective uses the noun sense of temper, which can mean both "state of mind" and specifically "angry state of mind."
Vocabulary lists containing quick-tempered
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.
The shifting promises are unsurprising to colleagues familiar with the brash, quick-tempered Gorka, a gate crasher in Washington’s buttoned-up defense establishment.
From Salon • Apr. 22, 2026
He told the jury that Shannon was "quick-tempered".
From BBC • Jun. 30, 2025
Tharp got both barrels from Stewart, known at times as a quick-tempered driver.
From Washington Times • Jun. 15, 2023
Those who have met Burhan describe him as terse and quick-tempered.
From Reuters • May 5, 2023
Yellow Kettle, her mother, was quick-tempered but always laughing, and her eyes shrewdly took in the world.
From "The Birchbark House" by Louise Erdrich
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.
