choleric

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈkɑlərɪk/ UK /ˈkɒlərɪk/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
easily angered; bad-tempered

The choleric old colonel barked orders at everyone in sight.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · easily angered; bad-tempered irascible irritable bad-tempered testyhot-temperedpeevish splenetic

Opposites

placideven-temperedphlegmatic calm

Word family

Derived forms cholerically

Related forms choler cholera

Simplified etymology

Choleric, recorded in Middle English, ultimately derives from Greek kholē, “bile.” It belongs to the same Greek-rooted group as cholera and cholesterol.

Etymology

From Old French colerique, from Latin cholericus, from Ancient Greek kholerikós ('bilious'), from kholḗ ('bile'); in medieval humoral medicine, an excess of yellow bile was thought to cause an angry temperament.

cholericus Latin kholḗ Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# choleric

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈkɑlərɪk/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈkɒlərɪk/

## Meanings
1. easily angered; bad-tempered

## Examples
- The choleric old colonel barked orders at everyone in sight.

## Synonyms
- irascible
- irritable
- bad-tempered
- testy
- hot-tempered
- peevish
- splenetic

## Antonyms
- placid
- even-tempered
- phlegmatic
- calm

## Derived Forms
- cholerically

## Related Forms
- choler
- cholera

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: cholericus
- Root: kholḗ

## Etymology
From Old French colerique, from Latin cholericus, from Ancient Greek kholerikós ('bilious'), from kholḗ ('bile'); in medieval humoral medicine, an excess of yellow bile was thought to cause an angry temperament.

## AI Etymology
Choleric is from Old French colerique, from Latin cholericus, from Ancient Greek kholerikós ('bilious'), from kholḗ ('bile'); in medieval humoral medicine, an excess of yellow bile was thought to cause an angry temperament. Important recorded forms include cholericus (Latin) and kholḗ (Ancient Greek). The current sense covers easily angered; bad-tempered. The wider family includes derived forms such as cholerically and related words such as choler and cholera.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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