as in disease
an abnormal state that disrupts a plant's or animal's normal bodily functioning
contracted some tropical distemper while he was doing research in the jungles of Borneo
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to alarm
to trouble the mind of; to make uneasy
despite his career success, he has been distempered by nagging feelings of inadequacy his whole life
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 distemper
Sara Schilling, Sacramento Bee, 21 Jan. 2025
Ultimately, distemper went from being a widespread killer to a preventable disease.
—Danny Robb, JSTOR Daily, 15 Jan. 2025
Democratic dysfunction goes hand in hand with democratic distemper.
—John Micklethwait, Foreign Affairs, 29 May 2014
In addition to Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, the stray dogs have been implicated in cases of dog bites and rabies in people, and parvo and distemper in pets.
—Pien Huang, NPR, 15 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for distemper
Noun
In one case, a border collie was euthanized within a week of being adopted after it was diagnosed with aspiration pneumonia and distemper, prosecutors said.
—Sara Schilling, Sacramento Bee, 21 Jan. 2025
Ultimately, distemper went from being a widespread killer to a preventable disease.
—Danny Robb, JSTOR Daily, 15 Jan. 2025
Democratic dysfunction goes hand in hand with democratic distemper.
—John Micklethwait, Foreign Affairs, 29 May 2014
In addition to Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, the stray dogs have been implicated in cases of dog bites and rabies in people, and parvo and distemper in pets.
—Pien Huang, NPR, 15 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for distemper
Recent Examples of Synonyms for distemper
Noun
-
However, in the U.S., the CDC has concluded there is no evidence that pesticides are effective in preventing these diseases and does not recommend this practice.—
Kathleen Wong,
USA Today,
17 Apr. 2025
-
The Harmattan facilitates the spread of diseases, such as influenza.—
Christophe Lavaysse,
JSTOR Daily,
17 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
Inspired by the urgent call from birth justice leaders and alarming CDC statistics showing Black women in the United States are three times more likely to die from pregnancy complications than white women.—
Melissa Noel,
Essence,
9 Apr. 2025
-
Are we supposed to be alarmed that team is falling apart?—
Sam McDowell,
Kansas City Star,
4 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Mahler died in 1911 from illnesses exacerbated by a heart condition, at just 50.—
Hannah Edgar,
Chicago Tribune,
14 Apr. 2025
-
Tocchet also announced Sunday that goaltender Thatcher Demko would be shut down for the season due to illness, which necessitated an emergency call-up of Nikita Tolopilo on Saturday.—
Thomas Drance,
New York Times,
14 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
The Cost Of Erasure Bisexual erasure can be distressing for many who identify as such.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes,
24 Mar. 2025
-
Understandably distressed by the theft, SHERELLE protected herself by avoidance, and kept music listening to a minimum.—
Thomas Smith,
Billboard,
9 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Supports the immune system and may help prevent seasonal ailments such as colds and flu.—
Alessandra Signorelli,
Vogue,
8 Apr. 2025
-
James averaged 25 points (51.7% shooting from the field, 38.4% from 3-point range), 8.5 assists and 8.2 rebounds while playing in 58 of the Lakers’ first 62 games before missing time because of the groin ailment.—
Khobi Price,
Orange County Register,
23 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
This involved manually disturbing the leg and then releasing it, capturing the resulting oscillations on high-speed video.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
16 Apr. 2025
-
What Is No-Till Gardening? Simply put, no-till is an approach to gardening that avoids disturbing soil in order to preserve its structure.—
Meghan Overdeep,
Southern Living,
14 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Those not employed were most commonly caring for a family member, attending school, or ill.—
KFF Health News,
Oc Register,
18 Apr. 2025
-
In the meantime, the new administrators warn that the Kennedy Center is impoverished, that the facility has become shoddy and that some of its programming ill serves the American ideal.—
Mark Swed,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow was popular enough that fans wanted a solo story, but the studio didn't bother to make it until her character was already dead in the major timeline, then skipped the theatrical release, which Johansson sued them about.—
Elizabeth Logan,
Glamour,
19 Apr. 2025
-
So much so that Gillaspie didn’t bother to even grab a towel last summer when a pitching coach yelled into the visiting showers to alert him that Triple-A El Paso manager Pete Zamora needed to see him.—
Jeff Sanders,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
17 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Distemper.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/distemper. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share