spleenful

A person sits with a spleenful expression in a quiet room.

Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Ill-tempered or spiteful: "spleenful" describes a person who is easily angered, irritable, or inclined to express malice.
   • Melancholic or gloomy: It can also mean affected by melancholy or low spirits, often with a tendency toward bitterness.

Usage Examples

• (His spiteful and irritable comments caused others to become distant.)
• (She grew bitter and ill-tempered in her grief.)

Advanced Usage

• "a spleenful disposition": a personality marked by chronic irritability or resentment.

  • The old man’s spleenful disposition made him difficult to live with. (His constant bad temper created a challenging home environment.)

• "spleenful outbursts": sudden fits of anger or spite.

  • His spleenful outbursts were often directed at strangers for minor inconveniences. (He would express sudden rage over trivial matters.)

Variants and Related Words

• Spleen (n): the organ (historically associated with melancholy and anger); also, a feeling of spite or ill humor.

  • He vented his spleen on the waiter for no reason. (He expressed his anger unfairly.)

• Spleenish (adj): similar to spleenful; irritable or peevish.

  • Her spleenish comments ruined the cheerful atmosphere. (Her irritable remarks spoiled the mood.)

• Spleeny (adj): archaic variant meaning irritable or melancholy.

  • The poet’s spleeney verses reflected his troubled mind. (His poems showed a gloomy, irritable tone.)

Synonyms

• Irascible: easily provoked to anger.
• Petulant: childishly sulky or bad-tempered.
• Malevolent: having or showing a wish to do evil to others.
• Morose: sullen and ill-tempered.

Related Idioms

• "To vent one’s spleen": to express anger or frustration, often in a bitter or spiteful way.
  • He vented his spleen in a long, angry letter to the editor. (He released his bitterness through harsh written criticism.)