Meaning & use
losing temper
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Meanings
phrasefixed phrase
Becoming suddenly angry and showing it, usually by shouting or acting in a hostile way.
Grammar: Used as the -ing form of "lose your temper"; the possessive changes with the person: losing my/his/their temper.
Patterns
- losing your temper
- losing his/her temper
- keep losing your temper
- stop losing your temper
She apologized for losing her temper at the meeting.
I keep losing my temper with the kids when I'm tired.
Losing your temper rarely solves anything.
phraseuncountable
The act or habit of becoming angry easily and often.
Grammar: Acts like a noun phrase when it is the subject or object: Losing temper is not allowed here.
Patterns
- losing temper is dangerous
- the problem of losing temper
Losing temper in front of customers is never acceptable.
His constant losing temper made the office tense.
Common combinations
- keep losing your temper
- If you keep losing your temper, people will stop listening to you.
- stop losing your temper
- He promised to stop losing his temper over small things.
- avoid losing your temper
- Take a deep breath to avoid losing your temper.
- losing your temper with someone
- She felt guilty about losing her temper with her brother.
- without losing your temper
- Try to explain the problem without losing your temper.
Synonyms and how they differ
- getting angry
- A more general phrase; it can describe any level of anger, while losing your temper suggests a sudden, visible outburst.
- blowing up
- Informal and stronger; it emphasizes a loud, explosive reaction rather than just becoming angry.
- flaring up
- Often used for anger that appears quickly and briefly, like a flame; losing your temper can last longer.
Opposites
Word family
- temper noun
- A person's tendency to become angry or stay calm.
- temperamental adjective
- Easily upset or likely to change mood suddenly.
- even-tempered adjective
- Calm and not easily made angry.
Commonly confused: losing temper or lose one's temper? losing temper or bad temper?
losing temper vs lose one's temper
This is the base form; "losing temper" is the -ing form used after certain verbs or as a subject. Don't use "losing temper" as a complete main verb: say "He lost his temper," not "He losing his temper."
losing temper vs bad temper
"Bad temper" describes a permanent personality trait, while "losing your temper" describes a single angry episode.
Practice
Which sentence uses the phrase correctly?
Choose one answer.
"Was losing" is correct because the -ing form needs a helping verb like was or is. Option 2 has no helping verb, option 3 has the wrong verb form for she, and option 4 mixes "is" with the base verb "lose".
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “losing temper”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.