phlegmatic
Say it: fleg-MAT-ik /flɛɡˈmatɪk/ · adjective
What “phlegmatic” means
Staying calm and showing little emotion.
More precisely: Calm and unemotional; not easily excited or upset.
Example: “Even when the servers crashed on launch day, our phlegmatic CTO just started fixing things.”
When to use it
When someone stays composed through excitement or trouble. A fairly formal description, sometimes admiring and sometimes suggesting emotional distance.
Similar words
calm, composed, unexcitable
Where it comes from
From phlegm, the bodily humour once thought to cause a calm, sluggish temperament.
Quick check
When a shelf collapses noisily, one librarian calmly starts gathering the books without looking upset. She is…
apathetic or phlegmatic?
Show the answer
phlegmatic
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