phlegmatic

/fleg'mætik/

Thân thiện

A phlegmatic man calmly reads a newspaper in a quiet park.

Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Having an unemotional and calm disposition: Describes a person who is not easily excited, angered, or upset, and who remains composed and even-tempered.
   • Showing little emotion or animation: Characterized by a lack of visible enthusiasm, energy, or agitation; often appearing stolid or indifferent.

Examples of Usage

• Adjective:
  • He remained phlegmatic during the crisis, calmly giving instructions while others panicked.
  • Her phlegmatic response to the exciting news surprised everyone.
  • The phlegmatic old dog barely lifted its head when the doorbell rang.

Advanced Usage

• "Phlegmatic temperament": A term historically used in the theory of the four humors to describe a personality type associated with calmness, sluggishness, and apathy.
  • In medieval medicine, a phlegmatic temperament was linked to an excess of phlegm in the body.

Variants and Related Words

• Phlegmatically (adverb): In a calm, unemotional manner.
  • He shrugged phlegmatically and went back to reading his book.

Synonyms

• Stoic: Enduring pain or hardship without showing feelings or complaining.
• Stolid: Calm, dependable, and showing little emotion or animation.
• Impassive: Not feeling or showing emotion.
• Unflappable: Having or showing calmness in a crisis.

Antonyms

• Excitable: Responding too readily to something new or stimulating; easily excited.
• Emotional: Having feelings that are easily excited and openly displayed.
• Mercurial: Subject to sudden or unpredictable changes of mood or mind.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• (As) cool as a cucumber: Very calm and composed, especially in a difficult situation. (This idiom conveys a similar idea of unflappable calmness.)
  • While the kitchen was in chaos, the head chef was as cool as a cucumber.

Học thuật

Adjective

1. showing little emotion
   • a phlegmatic...and certainly undemonstrative man

Từ đồng nghĩa

• phlegmatical