spleenish

A person feels spleenish on a rainy afternoon.

Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Ill-tempered or peevish: "spleenish" describes a person who is easily irritated, irritable, or given to fits of bad temper.
   • Morose or sullen: It can also refer to a mood of gloomy discontent or silent resentment.

Usage Examples

• (His ill-tempered comments made others dislike him.)
• (She was irritable and angry for no clear reason.)
• (His sullen, resentful quietness created tension.)

Advanced Usage

• "spleenish outburst": a sudden display of ill temper.
  • The manager’s spleenish outburst shocked the employees, as he was usually calm. (His sudden angry explosion surprised them.)
• "to grow spleenish": to become increasingly irritable over time.
  • After weeks of poor sleep, he grew more spleenish each day. (His bad temper worsened gradually.)

Variants and Related Words

• Spleenful (adj): full of spleen; irritable or spiteful.
  • Her spleenful letter was full of bitter accusations. (The letter expressed resentful anger.)
• Spleeny (adj): another form of spleenish, meaning easily angered or peevish.
  • The spleeney child cried at the slightest inconvenience. (The child was overly sensitive and irritable.)
• Spleen (n): the organ historically associated with melancholy and bad temper; also used figuratively for ill humor.
  • He vented his spleen on his subordinates. (He expressed his anger unfairly.)

Synonyms

• Irritable: easily annoyed or angered.
• Peevish: showing mild irritation or annoyance.
• Sullen: silently bad-tempered and resentful.
• Morose: gloomy and withdrawn.

Antonyms

• Cheerful: happy and positive.
• Good-natured: kind and easygoing.

Related Idioms

• "To vent one’s spleen": to express one’s anger or frustration.
  • He vented his spleen in a long, angry email. (He released his ill temper through writing.)
• "Spleen of the moment": a temporary fit of bad temper.
  • His apology was sincere; it was just the spleen of the moment. (He was only briefly irritable.)