ill-humored

adjective

ˈil-ˈhyü-mərd How to pronounce ill-humored (audio)
Definition of ill-humorednext
as in irritable
having or showing a habitually bad temper an ill-humored person should probably not take a job that requires dealing with the public

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ill-humored
  1. irritable
  2. angry
  3. splenetic
  4. cantankerous
  5. disagreeable
  6. dyspeptic
  7. bilious
  8. ornery
Adjective
  • The symptoms are so delayed that people often blame them on food poisoning, irritable-bowel syndrome, gluten intolerance.
    — Burkhard Bilger, New Yorker, 29 June 2026
  • Cancer could be affectionate and chatty one moment, and withdrawn and irritable the next, with little to no explanation.
    — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 23 June 2026
Definition of irritable
Adjective
  • Bowles told jurors Millete was angry at May over her yearlong affair with another man and likely poisoned her with the toxic plant hemlock.
    — Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 July 2026
  • Yet over our two days together in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, El-Sayed rarely comes across as angry.
    — Nik Popli, Time, 8 July 2026
Definition of angry
Adjective
  • Still, the internet nurtures these Hobbesian, splenetic views.
    — Annie Lowrey, The Atlantic, 24 May 2026
  • Meanwhile, the commentator and controversialist Piers Morgan, an obsessively close observer and relentless critic of Meghan, inevitably waded in with his usual splenetic views.
    — Sarah Lyall, New York Times, 17 Sep. 2022
Definition of splenetic
Adjective
  • Principle photography is underway in London, with Jurassic Park star Jeff Goldblum sharing his memories of contending with Winston’s cantankerous Tyrannosaurus Rex.
    — Matthew Carey, Deadline, 29 June 2026
  • The pièce de résistance is Belle’s willingness to engage with a cantankerous lion-man who has an outrageous temper, thanks to the chip on his very large shoulder.
    — Lincee Ray, Entertainment Weekly, 25 June 2026
Definition of cantankerous
Adjective
  • There are also a lot of people who have never dreamed of being disagreeable in public, much less considered joining a raucous social movement.
    — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 12 June 2026
  • The disagreeable object proved no match for the most fertile person in Montana.
    — Jonathan Franzen, New Yorker, 1 June 2026
Definition of disagreeable
Adjective
  • Better is Danny Elfman’s spartan and fraught score, particularly the dyspeptic drums.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 8 Jan. 2026
  • But Kael sensed in her less dyspeptic moments that there was something special about Redford.
    — Stephen Galloway, HollywoodReporter, 18 Sep. 2025
Definition of dyspeptic
Adjective
  • Sun shrinking and getting hotter; everything bilious, oxygenless, not great for living.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 3 Nov. 2025
  • Minaj’s bilious flurry is possibly related to claims that she is owed between $100 to 200 million related to her stake in Tidal, the music streaming service launched and spearheaded by Jay-Z in 2015 and was sold to Jack Dorsey’s company Square for $297 million in 2021.
    — Andrew Flanagan, Variety, 15 Oct. 2025
Definition of bilious
Adjective
  • Leach also would publicly call out his players and could get ornery when questioned about his team’s shortcomings.
    — Ralph D. Russo, New York Times, 2 June 2026
  • The rabbi is ornery, arrogant, sometimes cruel.
    — Daniel Felsenthal, Vulture, 26 Mar. 2026
Definition of ornery
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.

Browse Nearby Words

ill-favored
ill-humored
illiberal
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Cite this Entry

“Ill-humored.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ill-humored. Accessed 10 Jul. 2026.

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