temperamental
[tem-per-uh-men-tl, -pruh-men-, -per-men-]
- having or exhibiting a strongly marked, individual temperament.
- moody, irritable, or sensitive: a temperamental artist.
- given to erratic behavior; unpredictable.
- of or relating to temperament; constitutional: temperamental differences.
Show More
Origin of temperamental
Synonyms
See more synonyms for temperamental on Thesaurus.com2. excitable, volatile, emotional.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for temperamental
Contemporary Examples
Both a rocket engine with a temperamental record and an airframe of revolutionary design and construction had to be proved safe.
Virgin Galactic’s Flight Path to Disaster: A Clash of High Risk and HyperboleClive Irving
November 1, 2014
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.
‘Where’d You Go, Bernadette,’ ‘The Black Rhinos of Namibia,’ ‘The Wives’Nicholas Mancusi
August 6, 2012
Historical Examples
Jeff could almost feel the whiff and wind of the temperamental rush.
The PrisonerAlice Brown
Between these men there were temperamental differences as wide as the ocean.
Union and DemocracyAllen Johnson
But Bates would be; he had imagination and was temperamental.
Scott, who was 50 temperamental, as out-of-doors men often are, felt it keenly.
Across the MesaJarvis Hall
He knew how temperamental was the pleasure-seeking stranger.
The Rat RacketDavid Henry Keller
temperamental
- easily upset or irritated; excitable; volatile
- of, relating to, or caused by temperament
- informal working erratically and inconsistently; unreliablea temperamental sewing machine
Show More
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
Word Origin and History for temperamental
adj.
"of or pertaining to temperament," 1640s, from temperament; in the sense of "moody" it is recorded from 1907.
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper