What does distempered mean?
"Distempered" is a chiefly literary adjective describing a state of disorder, whether of temper, body, or mind. A distempered person is ill-tempered, agitated, or unsettled; a distempered body is fevered or diseased; and in older usage a distempered mind was troubled to the point of derangement. The word derives from the verb "to distemper," meaning to throw out of balance—a reference to the ancient medical theory that health depended on the proper mixture of four bodily humors. Because of this heritage, the word often suggests more than mere bad mood: it implies a fundamental imbalance, as when a distempered populace threatens civil order. Today it survives mainly in historical writing, literary criticism, and elevated prose, lending a distinctly archaic gravity to descriptions of turmoil. Readers encountering it in Shakespeare or early modern history will find it applied equally to fevers, factions, and furious kings.
Disordered, agitated, or unwell; thrown out of natural balance, whether of temper, body, or mind.
"The distempered general raged at his officers over imagined slights."
Largely archaic or literary in modern use; common in Renaissance and early modern texts.
Past tense and past participle of "distemper": to disturb, disorder, or make ill.
"The long siege had distempered the defenders' minds as much as their bodies."
The verb form is rare today outside historical contexts.
Shakespeare's kings were often "distempered"—a word that once described both a fevered body and a kingdom in chaos, because in old medicine the body was literally a balance of four humors.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of distempered
"Distempered" comes from the verb "distemper," from Latin ·dis- (apart) + ·temperare (to mix properly, moderate), via Old French destemprer. In medieval medicine, to be distempered was to have one's four humors out of balance—the root of both physical illness and emotional disturbance. English has used the word since the Middle Ages for both bodily disease and mental agitation, and cognates sharing the root "temperare" include "temper," "temperament," and "temperature." Its use declined after the 18th century, surviving mainly in literary registers.
Related word forms
How distempered is actually used
"Distempered" is now largely literary or archaic, appearing mostly in historical texts, Shakespearean criticism, and formal prose. It carries a connotation of imbalance—whether emotional, physical, or political—reflecting its roots in the ancient theory of bodily humors.
Easily confused with distempered
"Tempered" means moderated or hardened (as in steel or temperament), while "distempered" means the opposite—disordered, agitated, or unwell.
"Distended" means swollen or bloated from internal pressure, whereas "distempered" describes mental or physical disorder.