phlegmatic Hear it!

phlegmatic Definition

phleg·matic (fleg mat′ik)

adjective

  1. hard to rouse to action; specif.,
    1. sluggish; dull; apathetic
    2. calm; cool; stolid
  2. Obsolete of, like, or producing the humor phlegm

Etymology: ME fleumatike < OFr < LL phlegmaticus < Gr phlegmatikos < phlegma: see phlegm

Also phlegmatical phleg·mat′i·cal

Related Forms:

phlegmatic Synonyms

phlegmatic

modif.

apathetic, impassive, tiresome, cold; see dull 4, indifferent 1. See syn. study at impassive.

phlegmatic Usage Examples

Modifies a noun

  • humor: Heat is lost from the body in the evaporation of sweat from the skin; sweat being one aspect of the phlegmatic humor.
  • temperament: A powerful choleric will not be balanced by a person with a strong phlegmatic temperament.
  • character: They could tell the great vise of cruelty from a deeply wrinkled brow, or a phlegmatic character from a fat blowen visage.
  • type: Quote: there must be some purpose to the phlegmatic type.

Modifying Another Word

  • normally: Even the normally phlegmatic Wolff was grinning like a maniac.
  • so: They understood our problems and knew we had done our best. Would people be so phlegmatic nowadays?
  • too: One can only hope that Britain is too phlegmatic for the kind of tactics they favor.

Used with adjective complement

  • remain: However, he remains phlegmatic: " The whole Masterprize experience was a huge positive for me.