temper
verb/ˈtempə(r)/
/ˈtempər/
[usually passive]Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they temper | /ˈtempə(r)/ /ˈtempər/ |
| he / she / it tempers | /ˈtempəz/ /ˈtempərz/ |
| past simple tempered | /ˈtempəd/ /ˈtempərd/ |
| past participle tempered | /ˈtempəd/ /ˈtempərd/ |
| -ing form tempering | /ˈtempərɪŋ/ /ˈtempərɪŋ/ |
- (formal) to make something less severe by adding something that has the opposite effect
- be tempered with something Justice must be tempered with mercy.
- be tempered by something The hot sunny days were tempered by a light breeze.
- His delight was tempered by regret.
- (specialist) to make metal as hard as it needs to be by heating and then cooling it
- be tempered The blade is hardened and tempered so that it resists damage.
- tempered steel
Word OriginOld English temprian ‘bring something into the required condition by mixing it with something else’, from Latin temperare ‘mingle, restrain’. Sense development was probably influenced by Old French temprer ‘to temper, moderate’. The noun originally denoted a proportionate mixture of elements or qualities, also the combination of the four bodily humours, believed in medieval times to be the basis of temperament, hence senses (1) to (3) (late Middle English). Compare with temperament.
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