splenetic

adjective

spli-ˈne-tik How to pronounce splenetic (audio)
Definition of spleneticnext
as in irritable
having or showing a habitually bad temper the newspaper publisher's splenetic editorials often struck fear into local politicians

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of splenetic Still, the internet nurtures these Hobbesian, splenetic views. — Annie Lowrey, The Atlantic, 24 May 2026 Meanwhile, the commentator and controversialist Piers Morgan, an obsessively close observer and relentless critic of Meghan, inevitably waded in with his usual splenetic views. — Sarah Lyall, New York Times, 17 Sep. 2022 Moscow’s splenetic response to the European visit underscored Putin’s anger over Ukraine’s tightening bonds with Europe. — Laura Kingstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 20 June 2022 In Rithy Panh’s frenetic, splenetic new hybrid essay film, everything will most assuredly not be OK. — Jessica Kiang, Variety, 12 Feb. 2022 Despite the politicians’ splenetic arguments all week, Macron’s plan passed the National Assembly by a vote of 214 to 93. — Vivienne Walt, Fortune, 6 Jan. 2022 Kalder proposes Lenin as the originator of the modern totalitarian style in prose, adopting Marx’s splenetic polemical tone for the purposes of Communist revolution. — Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 16 Dec. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for splenetic
  1. irritable
  2. angry
  3. bilious
  4. dyspeptic
  5. cantankerous
  6. disagreeable
  7. ornery
  8. acid
Adjective
  • Coach There’s no better feeling than walking into your last show of the day, irritable and hungry, only to discover that snacks are being served.
    — Anna Grace Lee, Vogue, 17 Sep. 2026
  • If a relative or housemate seems irritable, ask what’s going on instead of working around the mood.
    — Tarot.com, Chicago Tribune, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of irritable
Adjective
  • To argue that calling them immigrants is technically wrong is like getting angry at people who don’t pronounce Los Feliz the Spanish way.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Sheriff Rick Ramsay said Monday that the father later told detectives that Lopez was angry that prosecutors didn’t offer him any plea deals, so his son planned to leave the country rather than face conviction.
    — David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of angry
Adjective
  • Ready to Wear, the bilious bomb of a film in which Robert Altman took aim at the fashion industry with an elephant gun—and missed.
    — Charles Gandee, Vogue, 27 Sep. 2026
  • Look the steady coarsening of American civic and political culture and the ways in which the once-outrageous—the bilious, hateful rhetoric and the creeping authoritarianism—have become almost ordinary.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 July 2026
Definition of bilious
Adjective
  • Govan might prevail on Lucas to join as well, as an idiosyncratic and dyspeptic if public-minded voice.
    — Gary Baum, HollywoodReporter, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Better is Danny Elfman’s spartan and fraught score, particularly the dyspeptic drums.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 8 Jan. 2026
Definition of dyspeptic
Adjective
  • But for the cantankerous boomer in the new open-world video game Future?
    — Lewis Gordon, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Encore revisits that album’s musical ingredients and amorous but intermittently cantankerous spirit.
    — Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of cantankerous
Adjective
  • Mistaking being disagreeable with the act of disagreeing is common - especially in unsafe psychological workplaces.
    — Kate Wieczorek, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
  • There are also a lot of people who have never dreamed of being disagreeable in public, much less considered joining a raucous social movement.
    — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 12 June 2026
Definition of disagreeable
Adjective
  • But however janky, the system just about works for the ornery menfolk muddling their way through it, with their many beefs mostly resolved with a bottle of lethally alcoholic local tipple chacha, or a punch to the face, or both.
    — Jessica Kiang, Variety, 16 Sep. 2026
  • The new movie follows a benevolent ex-pilot named Hig (Jacob Elordi) who, after losing his wife during a catastrophic global pandemic, lives out in the wilderness with his dog, Jasper, and ornery isolationist pal Bangley (Josh Brolin).
    — Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of ornery
Adjective
  • Learning to season food, growing comfortable with adding salt—and ultimately acid, spice, and sweetness—according to your own preferences, is what home cooking is all about.
    — Chris Morocco, Bon Appetit Magazine, 26 Sep. 2026
  • The idea that these two would have a five-minute-or-less breakup conversation, then plop down on the couch and happily embark on an acid trip together, strains credulity a little, even for this bizarre, codependent friend group.
    — Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of acid

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splendors
splenetic
splice
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Cite this Entry

“Splenetic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/splenetic. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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