different between flighty vs temperamental

English

Etymology

From flight +? -y. Compare Dutch vluchtig (“volatile; fleeting; cursory”), German flüchtig (“volatile; fleeting; momentary; quick”), Danish flygtig (“elusive; evasive”), Swedish flyktig.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?fla?ti/

Adjective

flighty (comparative flightier, superlative flightiest)

1. Given to unplanned and silly ideas or actions.
2. (of a bird) That flies easily or often.
   • 2013, Diego Gil, Henrik Brumm, Avian Urban Ecology

     "We know that flighty birds suffer from greater risk of raptor predation, and I assume that it is useful to understand the effects of urbanization because flighty species may be more vulnerable to anthropogenic disturbance."

3. (obsolete) Swift.

Translations

English

Etymology

temperament +? -al

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -?nt?l

Adjective

temperamental (comparative more temperamental, superlative most temperamental)

1. (not comparable) Of, related to, or caused by temperament.
2. Subject to changing and unpredictable emotional states; moody, capricious; sometimes used figuratively to describe user-unfriendly or unstable machines or software that are either complicated and/or have poorly written instructions and are subsequently difficult to operate.

Derived terms

• temperamentally

Translations

Spanish

Adjective

temperamental (plural temperamentales)

1. temperamental, moody