ill-natured

adjective

ˈil-ˈnā-chərd How to pronounce ill-natured (audio)
Definition of ill-naturednext
as in irritable
having or showing a habitually bad temper an ill-natured and unpleasant old horse that sometimes bites

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ill-natured
  1. irritable
  2. angry
  3. disagreeable
  4. cantankerous
  5. bilious
  6. splenetic
  7. ornery
  8. acid
Adjective
  • Screw that shouty guy in the street, and screw that irritable homeowner and enemy of dogs.
    James Parker, The Atlantic, 24 Dec. 2024
  • To avoid wallowing in their pity and reassurances, the women recite their own medical ailments (hyperthyroidism, gallstones, diabetes, irritable bowel) and promise to be there for each other.
    Sara Netzley, EW.com, 19 Dec. 2024
Definition of irritable
Adjective
  • Watching his massive bank of video screens with the angry mob clashing with the Raiders, there seems to be more than a hint of veracity to that intriguing statement.
    Jeff Spry, Space.com, 23 Dec. 2024
  • When customers are angry, representatives by nature are likely to get defensive.
    Tomas Gorny, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2024
Definition of angry
Adjective
  • Sometimes that means confronting disagreeable people.
    David Plazas, The Tennessean, 24 Apr. 2024
  • The most important reason to avoid obsessing over China’s disagreeable regime, however, is that this fixation threatens a core U.S. advantage: Washington’s wide network of partners and allies.
    Evan S. Medeiros, Foreign Affairs, 8 July 2021
Definition of disagreeable
Adjective
  • Carrey portrays Ebenezer Scrooge, a cantankerous, greedy old man who is visited by three ghosts on Christmas Eve who show him the error of his ways.
    Keith Langston, People.com, 14 Dec. 2024
  • The endearing homecoming introduces new characters including Moni (Hualalai Chung), a passionate island bard; Loto (Rose Matafeo), a quirky shipwright; Kele (David Fane), a cantankerous farmer; and Simea (Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda), Moana’s tenacious younger sister.
    Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Nov. 2024
Definition of cantankerous
Adjective
  • The piece ran under an illustration of a black spatula dripping sinister goblets of melting plastic, against a background of bilious green.
    Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 24 Dec. 2024
  • Not altogether surprising because the proliferation of guns and incendiary political rhetoric over the past few decades — and especially the last few bilious years — made the shooting at a Trump rally in Butler, Pa., seemingly just a matter of time.
    Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 14 July 2024
Definition of bilious
Adjective
  • And while there is enough splenetic wit and manic detail to generate obsessive fandom (entire sections of Web sites are dedicated to deciphering just what Kenny is mumbling), subjects like alien abduction, genetic engineering, and Kathie Lee are hardly original targets for satire.
    Chris Norris, SPIN, 13 Aug. 2022
  • 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
  • The offensive line, in Monken’s estimation, is the most talented and possibly most ornery unit he’s had at West Point, all the way down to wrestling each other to settle arguments about who’s tougher.
    Brian Hamilton, The Athletic, 21 Nov. 2024
  • They’re led by John Dutton III, an ornery character who nevertheless carries the kind of gravitas that only a veteran movie star like Kevin Costner can bring.
    Noel Murray, Vulture, 18 Nov. 2024
Definition of ornery
Adjective
  • Since azaleas are acid soil-loving plants, pine needles, aged pine bark, or leaf mold are ideal mulches.
    Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 19 Dec. 2024
  • Last year, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality fined Intel for failing to control air emissions of acid gases at its Hillsboro chip production facility.
    Arlene Blum, Forbes, 17 Dec. 2024
Definition of acid
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.

Thesaurus Entries Near ill-natured

ill-mannered

ill-natured

ill-naturedly

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“Ill-natured.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ill-natured. Accessed 31 Dec. 2024.

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