noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   An often childish display or fit of bad temper.

   "Many parents become embarrassed by their children throwing tantrums in public places."

2. 2
   a display of bad temper wordnet

Verb

1. 1
   To throw a tantrum. intransitive

Synonyms

All synonyms

conniptionfitblue devilcat fitcatfitconniption

Example

More examples

"The child threw a tantrum because he wanted me to buy him a toy."

Etymology

From earlier tanterum. Further etymology unknown.

Related phrases

have a tantrumpitch a tantrumtemper tantrumthrow a tantrum

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.