temperamental
/ˌtɛmp(ə)ɹəˈmɛntl̩/adjective
temperamental is spelled T-E-M-P-E-R-A-M-E-N-T-A-L: 13 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 39,336th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, temperamental means “Of, related to, or caused by temperament” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in temperamental?
| Letters | 13: T-E-M-P-E-R-A-M-E-N-T-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 39,336th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is temperamental?
Temperamental appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 39,336th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce temperamental?
- /ˌtɛmp(ə)ɹəˈmɛntl̩/
Temperamental has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-temperamental.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of temperamental
- more temperamental comparative
- most temperamental superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does temperamental mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of, related to, or caused by temperament.
- 2
Subject to changing and unpredictable emotional states; moody, capricious.
- 3
User-unfriendly, unstable, that is complicated or has poorly written instructions and is subsequently difficult to operate; unpredictable and erratic.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Temperamental in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense emotional or moody, inconsistent:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | caractériel |
| Portuguese | temperamental |
| Spanish | temperamental |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does temperamental come from?
From temperament + -al.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).