temperamental

[tem-per-uh-men-tl, -pruh-men-, -per-men-] / ˌtɛm pər əˈmɛn tl, -prəˈmɛn-, -pərˈmɛn- /

ADJECTIVE

moody; irritable

Synonyms

STRONGEST

capricious erratic excitable fickle headstrong high-strung impatient irritable mercurial moody ornery passionate petulant thin-skinned unpredictable unreliable unstable volatile

WEAK

changeable cussed easily upset emotional explosive fiery froward hotheaded hyper hypersensitive in bad mood inconsistent mean neurotic sensitive ticklish touchy uncertain undependable variable willful

Antonyms

STRONGEST

calm constant dependable easygoing happy laid-back predictable reliable stable steadfast steady tolerant unchanging unvarying

WEAK

peaceful pleased

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.

I’d also feel temperamental if Saturday Night Live made a meal out of jokes about my turkey neck week after week.

From Slate • Jun. 11, 2026

Tortorella’s an acquired taste—he can be tetchy, and the NHL isn’t always thrilled—but he and the Knights have been a temperamental match.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 10, 2026

"But young stars are so extremely spotty, active, and temperamental, that the Doppler method is a non-starter."

From Science Daily • Jan. 31, 2026

Writer-director Lotfy Nathan’s inspiration is an apocryphal 2nd century text called the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, which purports to describe the incident-filled childhood of a temperamental Jesus.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 14, 2025

A sarcastic, temperamental man, he’d been expelled from three different schools.

From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day

Vocabulary lists containing temperamental

Into the Wild

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The Lightning Thief

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This Week In Culture, April 26–May 2, 2020

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