frequently_asked_questions_files/Oxford Thesaurus.pdf

tellý n. tumulus, mound, barrow, hillock: Excavation of the tell
exposed ancient skeletons.
telling adj. 1 effective, effectual, influential, weighty, important,
powerful, forceful, potent, significant, considerable, striking:
The new colour scheme in the office has had a telling effect on
morale.
--n. 2 tattling, (too) revealing, Colloq letting the cat out of
the bag, giving away the whole show: I cannot say why her key
was found in his pocket - that would be telling.
temper n. 1 mood, disposition, temperament, humour, state or frame of
mind, character, personality, nature, make-up, constitution:
Practising law did not suit his temper, so he became a social
worker. 2 composure, self-control, self-possession, calmness,
equanimity, balance, sang-froid, coolness, Colloq cool: He
would lose his temper if she ever mentioned another man. 3 ill
humour, ill temper, foul temper, irascibility, irritability,
petulance, volatility, peevishness, huffishness, surliness,
churlishness, hotheadedness, hot-bloodedness: At the first sign
of temper, just ignore him. 4 (temper) tantrum, fury, fit (of
pique), rage, passion, Colloq Brit wax, paddy: She went off
into a temper at the mere mention of his name.
--v. 5 modify, moderate, assuage, mollify, soften, cushion,
tone down, allay, soothe, mitigate, palliate, reduce, relax,
slacken, lighten, appease: The cold currents from the poles are
tempered by the equatorial waters. She used all her wiles to
temper his fury. 6 anneal, toughen, strengthen, harden: Plunge
the heated blade into water to temper it.
temperamental
adj. 1 moody, sensitive, touchy, hypersensitive, volatile,
irascible, irritable, petulant, testy, short-tempered,
hot-tempered, hotheaded, hot-blooded, excitable, explosive, on a
short fuse or US fuze, capricious, impatient, bad-humoured,
curt, brusque, short, gruff, bluff, curmudgeonly, waspish,
snappish, peevish, crabby, crabbed, grumpy, huffish, huffy,
crotchety, US cranky, Colloq grouchy: He's not usually
temperamental - must be something he ate. 2 erratic, uneven,
unreliable, inconsistent, undependable, unpredictable: That car
of mine is getting temperamental in its old age.