Words / C2

fleg-MAT-ik/fleɡˈmætɪk/

Phlegmatic means calm and not easily excited or upset: a phlegmatic manner, phlegmatic under pressure. Calm is everyday; unflappable is a close informal cousin; stoical adds endurance of pain; impassive can mean no visible feeling at all. In speech, unflappable is enough. Phlegmatic can be praise (steady) or a slight (too cool, under-reacting). From the old humour “phlegm.” Do not use it for someone who is merely silent from fear.

Meaning

Calm and not easily excited or upset.

Examples

• “Her phlegmatic manner steadied the team.”
• “Her phlegmatic manner steadied the team when the lights failed.”
• “A phlegmatic shrug is not a plan; it is a temperament, sometimes a useful one.”

Good to know

Calmly unemotional; unflappable. Everyday: calm / unflappable. Close: stoical (endurance). Praise or slight (too cool). Contrast: frozen by fear.

Near in meaning

unflappable

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