distemper.

1. An unsettled mood of irritability, bad temper, or resentful discontent.

2. Any of several contagious animal diseases, especially the serious viral illness affecting dogs.

3. A water-based paint, traditionally made with pigments and a binding medium, used especially on walls or scenery.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• public distemper
• political distemper
• a mood of distemper

On the page

The long confinement bred a public distemper that no speech could soothe.

Usage notes

Primary category: horror / gothic literary. Lexical Type: Word. Forms: Usually uncountable; no ordinary plural in this sense. Commonness: uncommon (editorial estimate; not a corpus frequency statistic). Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1; numbered fields keep each relevant meaning separate. Research distinction: Full entry read: ill temper; disordered bodily state including distinct animal diseases; ailment/disorder; painting process, paint/ground and painted work; various water-based paints; verbs disorder and paint, with archaic mental derange. More than three important scopes. Three current noun areas retained, overflow flagged. Do not collapse all animal diseases into one virus. Individually reviewed for a precise writer function, not selected merely for rarity. Original definitions/examples; commonness editorial, not a corpus statistic. Genre suitability does not establish inherent fear or emotional intensity. Writing functions: irritable collective mood, distinct animal illnesses and older wall finishes.