1
: bad humor or temper
2
: a disordered or abnormal bodily state especially of quadruped mammals: such as
a
: a highly contagious virus disease of canines and especially of dogs that is caused by a morbillivirus (species Canine morbillivirus) and is marked by fever, leukopenia, and respiratory, gastrointestinal, and neurological symptoms
called also canine distemper
b
c
1
: a process of painting in which the pigments are mixed with an emulsion of egg yolk, with size, or with white of egg as a vehicle and which is used for painting scenery and murals
2
a
: the paint or the prepared ground used in the distemper process
b
: a painting done in distemper
3
: any of various water-based paints
distempered; distempering; distempers
: to paint in or with distemper
Synonyms
Examples of distemper in a Sentence
Verb (1)
despite his career success, he has been distempered by nagging feelings of inadequacy his whole life
Noun (1)
contracted some tropical distemper while he was doing research in the jungles of Borneo
Recent Examples on the Web
Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 21 May 2024
Genesee County Animal Control announced an emergency temporary closure of normal operations due to an outbreak of distemper, parvovirus and kennel cough among their dog population.
—Kylie Martin, Detroit Free Press, 24 July 2024
Wild Thang contracted distemper — a serious and contagious canine disease — as a puppy.
—Sydney Page, Washington Post, 28 June 2024
Here are some of the symptoms: sneezing discharge from eyes or nose
diarrhea
coughing
Can domestic dogs be vaccinated against distemper?
—Ana Rocío Álvarez Bríñez, The Courier-Journal, 21 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for distemper 
Noun
Few distemper paintings on linen have survived from 15th century Europe, but this rare gem is from a four- or five-part altarpiece, with related panels housed at Pasadena’s Norton Simon Museum and London’s National Gallery.
—Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 21 May 2024
Genesee County Animal Control announced an emergency temporary closure of normal operations due to an outbreak of distemper, parvovirus and kennel cough among their dog population.
—Kylie Martin, Detroit Free Press, 24 July 2024
Wild Thang contracted distemper — a serious and contagious canine disease — as a puppy.
—Sydney Page, Washington Post, 28 June 2024
Here are some of the symptoms: sneezing discharge from eyes or nose
diarrhea
coughing
Can domestic dogs be vaccinated against distemper?
—Ana Rocío Álvarez Bríñez, The Courier-Journal, 21 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for distemper
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'distemper.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near distemper
Cite this Entry
“Distemper.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/distemper. Accessed 19 Aug. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
distemper
noun
dis·tem·per
dis-ˈtem-pər 
: a disordered or abnormal bodily state especially of quadruped mammals: as
a
: a highly contagious virus disease especially of dogs that is marked by fever, leukopenia, and respiratory, gastrointestinal, and neurological symptoms and that is caused by a paramyxovirus of the genus Morbillivirus (species Canine morbillivirus)
called also canine distemper
b
c
d
: a severe frequently fatal infectious nasopharyngeal inflammation of rabbits
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