hot-headed

A hot-headed driver honks angrily in a traffic jam.

Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Easily angered or quick to act without thinking: "hot-headed" describes a person who becomes angry very quickly and acts impulsively, often without considering the consequences.
   • Impetuous or rash: Refers to behaviour characterised by sudden, unthinking emotional reactions.

Usage Examples

• (He becomes angry and confrontational too quickly.)
• (The driver reacted with sudden anger.)
• (The decision was made impulsively, without careful thought.)

Advanced Usage

• "a hot-headed reaction": a response driven by immediate anger rather than reason.

  • His hot-headed reaction to the criticism made the situation worse. (He responded angrily and without thought, escalating the conflict.)

• "hot-headed youth": a young person who is prone to impulsive, angry behaviour.

  • The hot-headed youth often got into fights at school. (The young person acted rashly and angrily.)

Variants and Related Words

• Hot-headedness (noun): the quality or state of being hot-headed.

  • His hot-headedness caused him to lose many friends. (His tendency to get angry quickly damaged his relationships.)

• Hot-tempered (adjective): having a quick and fiery temper; synonymous with "hot-headed."

  • She is hot-tempered and often regrets her outbursts later. (She becomes angry easily, but later feels remorse.)

Synonyms

• Impulsive: acting on sudden urges without thought.
• Rash: acting too quickly without considering risks.
• Fiery: having a strong, passionate temper.
• Quick-tempered: easily provoked to anger.

Antonyms

• Calm: not easily upset or angered.
• Level-headed: sensible and balanced in judgment.
• Patient: able to wait without becoming angry.

Related Idioms

• Fly off the handle: to suddenly become very angry.

  • He flies off the handle whenever someone disagrees with him. (He loses his temper quickly, like a hot-headed person.)

• Blow a fuse: to lose one’s temper explosively.

  • She blew a fuse when she heard the bad news. (She reacted with sudden, hot-headed anger.)

• See red: to become extremely angry.

  • He saw red when his car was scratched. (He reacted with hot-headed fury.)