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
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
Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 18 Oct. 2025
The bear tested negative for rabies and distemper.
—Lauren Liebhaber, Kansas City Star, 3 Oct. 2025
Dogs must be spayed (if 6 months or older) or neutered (if 12 months or older), up to date on shots including rabies, distemper, and Bordetella, and must be good around other dogs.
—Erik S. Hanley, jsonline.com, 17 Sep. 2025
Samples collected from the bear were sent to the Arkansas Department of Agriculture’s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and the Arkansas Department of Health to test for distemper and rabies.
—Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for distemper
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Noun
Remember that raccoons can transmit rabies to people and pets and distemper to unvaccinated pets, so they should never be handled alive (or deceased).
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 18 Oct. 2025
The bear tested negative for rabies and distemper.
—Lauren Liebhaber, Kansas City Star, 3 Oct. 2025
Dogs must be spayed (if 6 months or older) or neutered (if 12 months or older), up to date on shots including rabies, distemper, and Bordetella, and must be good around other dogs.
—Erik S. Hanley, jsonline.com, 17 Sep. 2025
Samples collected from the bear were sent to the Arkansas Department of Agriculture’s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and the Arkansas Department of Health to test for distemper and rabies.
—Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for distemper
Cite this Entry
“Distemper.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/distemper. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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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