1
general::
bad-tempered
becoming easily annoyed and talking in an angry unfriendly way to people:
• Her husband was a disagreeable, bad-tempered man. • I was wondering why she had been so bad-tempered recently.
moody
often becoming annoyed or unhappy, especially when there seems to be no good reason:
• a moody teenager • Myra can be a bit moody sometimes.
irritable
easily annoyed about small things, especially because you are tired, upset, or worried:
• I hadn’t had much sleep and was feeling tired and irritable. • Since Steve quit smoking, he’s been really irritable. • You’re turning into an irritable old man.
grumpy/grouchy
easily annoyed and often complaining about things - used especially when talking about people you know well. These words sound much gentler and less critical than bad-tempered:
• There’s no need to be so grumpy! • He woke up in a grouchy mood.
be in a bad mood
to be feeling annoyed or unhappy, so that you do not speak in a normal friendly way to people - used especially when this only lasts for a fairly short period of time and is not part of someone’s usual character:
• Leave him alone – he’s in a bad mood today. • By the time I got home at 9 o'clock, I was in a really bad mood.
have/have got a short fuse
informal to be likely to become angry very suddenly, especially in an unreasonable way:
• Be careful what you say to the Colonel - he’s got a very short fuse.
cantankerous
written bad-tempered and complaining or quarrelling a lot – used especially about old people:
• The hotel owner was a cantankerous old man. • In later years, she became quite cantankerous.
Longman-Thesaurus
2
general::
adj. VERBS be, look, seem, sound | become, grow | make sb It is his illness that makes him bad-tempered. ADV. extremely, very | increasingly, more and more He grew more and more bad-tempered as the afternoon wore on. | rather
Oxford Collocations Dictionary