vt political disorder; tumult.
2. distemper ·vt to intoxicate.
3. distemper ·vt a painting done with this preparation.
4. distemper ·vt severity of climate; extreme weather, whether hot or cold.
5. distemper ·vt an undue or unnatural temper, or disproportionate mixture of parts.
6. distemper ·vt to mix (colors) in the way of distemper; as, to distemper colors with size.
7. distemper ·vt to temper or mix unduly; to make disproportionate; to change the due proportions of.
8. distemper ·vt morbid temper of the mind; undue predominance of a passion or appetite; mental derangement; bad temper; ill humor.
9. distemper ·vt to derange the functions of, whether bodily, mental, or spiritual; to disorder; to disease.
10. distemper ·vt to deprive of temper or moderation; to disturb; to ruffle; to make disaffected, ill-humored, or malignant.
11. distemper ·vt a morbid state of the animal system; indisposition; malady; disorder;
at present chiefly applied to diseases of brutes; as, a distemper in dogs; the horse distemper; the horn distemper in cattle.
12. distemper ·vt a preparation of opaque or body colors, in which the pigments are tempered or diluted with weak glue or size (·cf. tempera) instead of oil, usually for scene painting, or for walls and ceilings of rooms.