bad-tempered

/ˌˈbæd ˌtɛmpərd/

/bædˈtɛmpəd/

Someone who's bad-tempered is cranky and surly. Your bad-tempered next door neighbor might spend the weekend yelling at kids, "Stay off of my lawn!"

Oscar the Grouch is a good example of a bad-tempered Sesame Street character. Bad-tempered people are grouchy by nature, although you can have a bad-tempered day or an unusually bad-tempered reaction to some terrible news or a visit from your least favorite cousin. Your temper is your state of mind or your mood, so to be bad-tempered is to be in a bad mood.

Definitions of bad-tempered

1. adjective

   annoyed and irritable
   synonyms: crabbed, crabby, cross, fussy, grouchy, grumpy, ill-tempered

   ill-natured

   having an irritable and unpleasant disposition