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

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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
  • How skipping breakfast affects kids at school Nemours KidsHealth reports that kids who miss the morning meal often feel tired, restless or irritable by midmorning.
    — Ashley Lynch, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Skipping meals can negatively affect blood sugar levels and leave you feeling hungry, irritable, and unable to pay attention.
    — Mira Miller, Verywell Health, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of irritable
Adjective
  • But some of it is about the cultural change that people argue about, on their phones, with the other angry people that their algorithm has found for them.
    — David Weigel, semafor.com, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Pretendian hunters tend to be painted as aggressive or angry, which ultimately serves to undermine their claims.
    — Tommy Orange, Vulture, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of angry
Adjective
  • 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
  • Minaj’s bilious flurry is possibly related to claims that she is owed between $100 to 200 million related to her stake in Tidal, the music streaming service launched and spearheaded by Jay-Z in 2015 and was sold to Jack Dorsey’s company Square for $297 million in 2021.
    — Andrew Flanagan, Variety, 15 Oct. 2025
Definition of bilious
Adjective
  • Better is Danny Elfman’s spartan and fraught score, particularly the dyspeptic drums.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 8 Jan. 2026
  • But Kael sensed in her less dyspeptic moments that there was something special about Redford.
    — Stephen Galloway, HollywoodReporter, 18 Sep. 2025
Definition of dyspeptic
Adjective
  • Beneath the song's upbeat melody and the movie's cantankerous humor, both deliver a powerful message that women deserve equal pay and treatment in the workplace.
    — Kamaron McNair, CNBC, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Slow Horses stars Oldman as Lamb, a brilliant but cantankerous leader of dysfunctional spies who have made career-ending mistakes and end up at a dumping ground MI5 unit known as Slough House.
    — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 18 Aug. 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
  • In the show, Kyle Chandler plays Hal Jordan, an ornery Green Lantern who is begrudgingly training his upstart protégé (Aaron Pierre).
    — Jordan Moreau, Variety, 16 July 2026
  • Leach also would publicly call out his players and could get ornery when questioned about his team’s shortcomings.
    — Ralph D. Russo, New York Times, 2 June 2026
Definition of ornery
Adjective
  • 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
  • In a sequencer that resembled a large fridge, millions of short nucleic-acid fragments would be identified in the span of ten hours.
    — Jason Liebowitz, New Yorker, 25 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 2 Sep. 2026.

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