HOT-TEMPERED Synonyms: 102 Similar and Opposite Words

hot-tempered

adjective

Definition of hot-tempered

as in antagonistic

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of hot-tempered In addition, teens who are dealing with intense emotions that are hard to cope with are often hot-tempered and easily irritated. — Staff Author, Parents, 9 Mar. 2026 What is the strategy for living with someone who is exceedingly hot-tempered? — R. Eric Thomas, Mercury News, 25 Oct. 2025 The movie co-stars Albert Finney as an acclaimed and hot-tempered writer named George and Keaton as Faith, the wife and mother of his children, who gave up her own dreams to support him, only to get thrown over for a younger woman (Karen Allen). — Matt Zoller Seitz, Vulture, 12 Oct. 2025 Robbie is a complicated man, at once incredibly compassionate and deeply self-centered, philosophical and brooding but also impulsive and hot-tempered. — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for hot-tempered

Recent Examples of Synonyms for hot-tempered

Adjective

Faced with the dominion of the identical copy, some modern artists chose to celebrate it; others took a more critical, even antagonistic stance.

— Mario Carpo, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2026
In Central America, for example, ants feed on acacia trees, a relationship that, at first glance, appeared purely antagonistic.

— Denise Hruby, Miami Herald, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of antagonistic

Adjective

Kuwait's army said its air defence systems were targeting hostile missile and drone attacks.

— Leonie Kidd, CNBC, 3 Sep. 2026
Some recent laws, including the Safer Skies Act of 2025, grant state and local agencies (though not private-sector entities) greater license to detect and track hostile drones.

— Seth G. Jones, Foreign Affairs, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of hostile

Adjective

Alyson Hannigan was Lily, a kindergarten teacher and Marshall’s loving, supportive wife, who also happens to have a wild, feisty, and neurotic side.

— Skyler Trepel, Entertainment Weekly, 20 Aug. 2026
Award-winning actor Kandis Chappell deftly illuminates the witty, feisty, vulnerable woman who was considered the heart of FDR’s presidency.

— Ut Community Press, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Aug. 2026

Definition of feisty

Adjective

And in August 2008, Russia went to war with neighboring Georgia, showing the belligerent new face of Putin’s foreign policy.

— Nathan Hodge, CNN Money, 23 Aug. 2026
Trump’s belligerent approach to dealing with Canada marks an extraordinary departure from the traditionally cooperative relationship between the two countries.

— Rob Gillies, Chicago Tribune, 18 Aug. 2026

Definition of belligerent

Adjective

Though less overtly pugnacious than the other main far-right cabinet member, Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, with whom he is often compared, Smotrich has used his time in office to ramp up settlement building.

— Reuters, NBC news, 7 Aug. 2026
Indeed, his rising profile as a pugnacious public commentator has arguably exceeded his influence on Wall Street.

— Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 20 July 2026

Definition of pugnacious

Adjective

Driscoll was widely seen as less combative and positioned himself as a driving force for modernizing the Army through updating its doctrine and integrating robots, drones and other emerging technologies into the force.

— Luis Martinez, ABC News, 1 Sep. 2026
If Smith can’t reach that height, then the Alvarado and McConnell comparisons are more apt, and both of those two players are combative and successful defensive players.

— Tony East, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026

Definition of combative

Adjective

Volatile, quarrelsome, dogmatic, and sure of his own brilliance, Reinhold outraged patrons, amassed huge debts, and turned his eldest son into an exhausted workhorse.

— Jenny Uglow, The New York Review of Books, 4 July 2026
The toys, like the perpetually quarrelsome Woody and Buzz or Jessie the cowgirl, who now takes center stage, have seen their boy and girl owners grow up and leave them behind.

— Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 16 June 2026

Definition of quarrelsome

Adjective

Since taking over in March, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has pivoted from the confrontational style of immigration enforcement of his predecessor, Kristi Noem.

— Vanessa Romo, NPR, 26 Aug. 2026
Cardi’s personality does the rest, turning every bar into an extension of the track’s confrontational energy.

— Brittney Williams, Billboard, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of confrontational

Browse Nearby Words

hotted (up)

hot-tempered

hot ticket

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“Hot-tempered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hot-tempered. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of hot-tempered

adjective

Example Sentences

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