Adjacent Words

Temper definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

TEM'PER, v.t. [L. tempero, to mix or moderate]
1. To mix so that one part qualifies the other; to bring to a moderate state; as, to temper justice with mercy.
2. To compound; to form by mixture; to qualify, as by an ingredient; or in general, to mix, unite or combine two or more things so as to reduce the excess of the qualities of either, and bring the whole to the desired consistence or state.
Thou shalt make it a perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary, tempered together, pure and holy. Exodus 30.
3. To unite in due proportion; to render symmetrical; to adjust, as parts to each other.
God hath tempered the body together. 1 Corinthians 12.
4. To accommodate; to modify.
Thy sustenance serving to the appetite of the eater, tempered itself to every man's liking.
5. To soften; to mollify; to assuage; to soothe; to calm; to reduce any violence or excess.
Solon--labored to temper the warlike courages of the Athenians with sweet delights of learning.
Woman! nature made thee
To temper man; we had been brutes without you.
6. To form to a proper degree of hardness; as, to temper iron or steel.
The temper'd metals clash, and yield a silver sound.
7. To govern; a Latinism. [Not in use.]
8. In music, to modify or amend a false or imperfect concord by transferring to it a part of the beauty of a perfect one, that is, by dividing the tones.
TEM'PER, n. Due mixture of different qualities; or the state of any compound substance which results from the mixture of various ingredients; as the temper of mortar.
1. Constitution of body. [In this sense we more generally use temperament.]
2. Disposition of mind; the constitution of the mind, particularly with regard to the passions and affections; as a calm temper; a hasty temper; a fretful temper. This is applicable to beasts as well as to man.
Remember with what mild
And gracious temper he both heard and judg'd.
3. Calmness of mind; moderation.
Restore yourselves unto your tempers, fathers.
To fall with dignity, with temper rise.
4. Heat of mind or passion; irritation. The boy showed a great deal of temper when I reproved him.
So we say, a man of violent temper, when we speak of his irritability. [This use of the word is common, though a deviation from its original and genuine meaning.]
5. The state of a metal, particularly as to its hardness; as the temper of iron or steel.
6. Middle course; mean or medium.
7. In sugar works, white lime or other substance stirred into a clarifier filled with cane-juice, to neutralize the super abundant acid.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a sudden outburst of anger; "his temper sparked like damp firewood" [syn: pique, temper, irritation]
2: a characteristic (habitual or relatively temporary) state of feeling; "whether he praised or cursed me depended on his temper at the time"; "he was in a bad humor" [syn: temper, mood, humor, humour]
3: a disposition to exhibit uncontrolled anger; "his temper was well known to all his employees" [syn: temper, biliousness, irritability, peevishness, pettishness, snappishness, surliness]
4: the elasticity and hardness of a metal object; its ability to absorb considerable energy before cracking [syn: temper, toughness] v
1: bring to a desired consistency, texture, or hardness by a process of gradually heating and cooling; "temper glass" [syn: anneal, temper, normalize]
2: harden by reheating and cooling in oil; "temper steel" [syn: temper, harden]
3: adjust the pitch (of pianos)
4: make more temperate, acceptable, or suitable by adding something else; moderate; "she tempered her criticism" [syn: temper, season, mollify]
5: restrain [syn: chasten, moderate, temper]

Merriam Webster's

I. transitive verb (tempered; tempering) Etymology: Middle English, from Old English & Anglo-French; Old English temprian & Anglo-French temprer, from Latin temperare to moderate, mix, temper; probably akin to Latin tempor-, tempus time Date: before 12th century 1. to dilute, qualify, or soften by the addition or influence of something else ; moderate <temper justice with mercy> 2. archaic a. to exercise control over ; govern, restrain b. to cause to be well disposed ; mollify <tempered and reconciled them both — Richard Steele> 3. to bring to a suitable state by mixing in or adding a usually liquid ingredient: as a. to mix (clay) with water or a modifier (as grog) and knead to a uniform texture b. to mix oil with (colors) in making paint ready for use 4. a. (1) to soften (as hardened steel or cast iron) by reheating at a lower temperature (2) to harden (as steel) by reheating and cooling in oil b. to anneal or toughen (glass) by a process of gradually heating and cooling 5. to make stronger and more resilient through hardship ; toughen <troops tempered in battle> 6. a. to put in tune with something ; attune b. to adjust the pitch of (a note, chord, or instrument) to a temperament • temperable adjective • temperer noun II. noun Date: 14th century 1. a. archaic a suitable proportion or balance of qualities ; a middle state between extremes ; mean, medium <virtue is…a just temper between propensities — T. B. Macaulay> b. archaic character, quality <the temper of the land you design to sow — John Mortimer> c. characteristic tone ; trend <the temper of the times> d. high quality of mind or spirit ; courage 2. a. the state of a substance with respect to certain desired qualities (as hardness, elasticity, or workability); especially the degree of hardness or resiliency given steel by tempering b. the feel and relative solidity of leather 3. a. a characteristic cast of mind or state of feeling ; disposition b. calmness of mind ; composure c. state of feeling or frame of mind at a particular time usually dominated by a single strong emotion d. heat of mind or emotion ; proneness to anger ; passion <she has a real temper> 4. a substance (as a metal) added to or mixed with something else (as another metal) to modify the properties of the latter Synonyms: see disposition

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 habitual or temporary disposition of mind esp. as regards composure (a person of a placid temper). 2 irritation or anger (in a fit of temper). 3 a tendency to have fits of anger (have a temper). 4 composure or calmness (keep one's temper; lose one's temper). 5 the condition of metal as regards hardness and elasticity. --v.tr. 1 bring (metal or clay) to a proper hardness or consistency. 2 (foll. by with) moderate or mitigate (temper justice with mercy). 3 tune or modulate (a piano etc.) so as to distance intervals correctly. Phrases and idioms: in a bad temper angry, peevish. in a good temper in an amiable mood. out of temper angry, peevish. show temper be petulant. Derivatives: temperable adj. temperative adj. tempered adj. temperedly adv. temperer n. Etymology: OE temprian (v.) f. L temperare mingle: infl. by OF temprer, tremper

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Temper Tem"per, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Tempered; p. pr. & vb. n. Tempering.] [AS. temprian or OF. temper, F. temp['e]rer, and (in sense 3) temper, L. temperare, akin to tempus time. Cf. Temporal, Distemper, Tamper.] 1. To mingle in due proportion; to prepare by combining; to modify, as by adding some new element; to qualify, as by an ingredient; hence, to soften; to mollify; to assuage; to soothe; to calm. Puritan austerity was so tempered by Dutch indifference, that mercy itself could not have dictated a milder system. --Bancroft. Woman! lovely woman! nature made thee To temper man: we had been brutes without you. --Otway. But thy fire Shall be more tempered, and thy hope far higher. --Byron. She [the Goddess of Justice] threw darkness and clouds about her, that tempered the light into a thousand beautiful shades and colors. --Addison. 2. To fit together; to adjust; to accomodate. Thy sustenance . . . serving to the appetite of the eater, tempered itself to every man's liking. --Wisdom xvi. 21. 3. (Metal.) To bring to a proper degree of hardness; as, to temper iron or steel. The tempered metals clash, and yield a silver sound. --Dryden. 4. To govern; to manage. [A Latinism & Obs.] With which the damned ghosts he governeth, And furies rules, and Tartare tempereth. --Spenser. 5. To moisten to a proper consistency and stir thoroughly, as clay for making brick, loam for molding, etc. 6. (Mus.) To adjust, as the mathematical scale to the actual scale, or to that in actual use. Syn: To soften; mollify; assuage; soothe; calm.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Temper Tem"per, n. 1. The state of any compound substance which results from the mixture of various ingredients; due mixture of different qualities; just combination; as, the temper of mortar. 2. Constitution of body; temperament; in old writers, the mixture or relative proportion of the four humors, blood, choler, phlegm, and melancholy. The exquisiteness of his [Christ's] bodily temper increased the exquisiteness of his torment. --Fuller. 3. Disposition of mind; the constitution of the mind, particularly with regard to the passions and affections; as, a calm temper; a hasty temper; a fretful temper. Remember with what mild And gracious temper he both heared and judged. --Milton. The consequents of a certain ethical temper. --J. H. Newman. 4. Calmness of mind; moderation; equanimity; composure; as, to keep one's temper. To fall with dignity, with temper rise. --Pope. Restore yourselves to your tempers, fathers. --B. Jonson. 5. Heat of mind or passion; irritation; proneness to anger; -- in a reproachful sense. [Colloq.] 6. The state of a metal or other substance, especially as to its hardness, produced by some process of heating or cooling; as, the temper of iron or steel. 7. Middle state or course; mean; medium. [R.] The perfect lawgiver is a just temper between the mere man of theory, who can see nothing but general principles, and the mere man of business, who can see nothing but particular circumstances. --Macaulay. 8. (Sugar Works) Milk of lime, or other substance, employed in the process formerly used to clarify sugar. Temper screw, in deep well boring, an adjusting screw connecting the working beam with the rope carrying the tools, for lowering the tools as the drilling progresses. Syn: Disposition; temperament; frame; humor; mood. See Disposition.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Temper Tem"per, v. i. 1. To accord; to agree; to act and think in conformity. [Obs.] --Shak. 2. To have or get a proper or desired state or quality; to grow soft and pliable. I have him already tempering between my finger and my thumb, and shortly will I seal with him. --Shak.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(tempers, tempering, tempered) 1. If you refer to someone's temper or say that they have a temper, you mean that they become angry very easily. He had a temper and could be nasty... I hope he can control his temper. N-VAR 2. Your temper is the way you are feeling at a particular time. If you are in a good temper, you feel cheerful. If you are in a bad temper, you feel angry and impatient. I was in a bad temper last night... N-VAR: with supp, oft adj N, oft in N 3. To temper something means to make it less extreme. (FORMAL) For others, especially the young and foolish, the state will temper justice with mercy... He had to learn to temper his enthusiasm. VERB: V n with n, V n 4. If someone is in a temper or gets into a temper, the way that they are behaving shows that they are feeling angry and impatient. She was still in a temper when Colin arrived... When I try to explain how I feel he just flies into a temper. PHRASE: v-link PHR, PHR after v 5. If you lose your temper, you become so angry that you shout at someone or show in some other way that you are no longer in control of yourself. I've never seen him get cross or lose his temper... PHRASE: V inflects

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

tem'-per: The word is used in the King James Version to render different Hebrew words. In Eze 46:14 for "temper" (racac) the Revised Version (British and American) substitutes "moisten." In So (5:2) a noun from the same stem means "dew-drops." In Ex 29:2 the King James Version we read "cakes unleavened, tempered (balal, literally, "mixed") with oil," the Revised Version (British and American) "mingled." The word denotes "rough-and-ready mixing." In the recipe for the making of incense given in Ex (30:35) occur the words "tempered together," malach (literally, "salted"; hence, the Revised Version (British and American) "seasoned with salt"). The word occurs in two interesting connections in The Wisdom of Solomon 15:7 (the Revised Version (British and American) "knead") and 16:21. In 1Co 12:24 it occurs in English Versions of the Bible as a rendering of the Greek word sugqerannumi, which meant to "mix together." Paul is arguing in favor of the unity of the church and of cooperation on the part of individual members, and uses as an illustration the human body which consists of various organs with various functions. It is God, argues the apostle, who has "tempered," "compounded" or "blended," the body. Each member has its place and function and must contribute to the welfare of the whole frame. The same Greek word occurs in Heb 4:2. The author urges the necessity of faith in regard to the gospel. The unbelieving Israelites had derived no benefit from their hearing of the gospel because their hearing of it was not "mixed" with faith.

T. Lewis

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. 1. Modify, qualify, mix in due proportion. 2. Soften, mollify, assuage, soothe, calm, moderate, restrain, pacify, attemper, appease. 3. Adapt, fit, suit, adjust, accommodate. 4. Bring to the right degree of hardness (as iron, by sudden cooling). 5. Anneal. II. n. 1. Due mixture, just combination. 2. Constitution, temperament, nature, organization. 3. Disposition, humor, frame, mood, grain. 4. Calmness, moderation, equanimity, composure, tranquillity. 5. Degree of hardness. 6. (Colloq.) Anger, passion, irritation, heat of mind.

Foolish Dictionary

A quality, the loss of which is likely to make a knife blade dull and a woman's tongue sharp.

Moby Thesaurus

Irish, abate, adjust, adjust to, allay, alleviate, alter, anger, animus, anneal, appease, aptitude, assuage, atmosphere, attain majority, attemper, attribute, aura, bad temper, balance, bank the fire, be tough, beef up, bent, besprinkle, bias, bloom, blunt, body-build, box in, brace, brace up, brand, breathe, brew, buttress, calcify, callous, calmness, case harden, cast, character, characteristic, characteristics, chasten, chisel temper, churlishness, circumscribe, climate, color, come of age, come to maturity, complexion, composition, composure, condition, confirm, conniption, constituents, constitution, constrain, control, cool, coolness, cornify, crasis, cue, curb, cushion, damp, dampen, dander, de-emphasize, deaden, decoct, develop, dharma, diathesis, die temper, dilute, diminish, disposition, downplay, dredge, drift, dull, dye, ease, eccentricity, endure, entincture, equanimity, ethos, extenuate, fiber, fierce temper, fiery temper, firm, firmness, fit, flavor, fledge, flower, fortify, fossilize, frame, frame of mind, fury, genius, gird, grain, grow, grow up, habit, hang tough, harden, hardness, hardness scale, heart, heat treating, hedge, hedge about, hot blood, hot temper, hotheadedness, hue, huffishness, humor, humors, idiosyncrasy, ilk, ill humor, ill temper, imbrue, imbue, impregnate, inclination, indenter, individualism, individuality, indurate, infiltrate, infuse, instill, invigorate, irascibility, ire, irritability, irritable temper, keep within bounds, kidney, kind, lapidify, lay, leaning, leave the nest, leaven, lenify, lessen, lighten, limit, lithify, make, makeup, mature, mellow, mental set, mettle, mind, mind-set, mitigate, moderate, modify, modulate, mold, mollify, mood, morale, narrow, nature, nerve, note, obtund, orientation, ossify, outburst, outlook, pacify, paddy, palliate, passion, peculiarity, peevishness, penetrate, permeate, personality, pervade, petrify, petulance, physique, play down, posture, precipitation hardening, predilection, predisposition, preference, proclivity, prop, propensity, property, qualify, quality, rage, razor temper, reach manhood, reach twenty-one, reach voting age, reduce, reduce the temperature, refresh, regulate by, reinforce, reinvigorate, relax, restrain, restrengthen, restrict, ripen, sang-froid, saturate, saw file temper, season, self-control, self-possession, set, set conditions, set limits, set temper, settle down, shore up, short temper, slacken, slant, slow down, smother, sober, sober down, soften, solidity, somatotype, soothe, sort, soundness, spindle temper, spirit, spirits, spunkiness, stability, stamp, state, state of mind, staunchness, steel, steep, stiffen, stifle, stoutness, strain, streak, strengthen, stripe, sturdiness, style, subdue, suchness, suffuse, support, suppress, surliness, sustain, system, tame, tantrum, temper tantrum, temperament, tempering, tendency, tenor, timbre, tincture, tinge, toga virilis, tone, tone down, tool temper, toughen, transfuse, trend, tune down, turn, turn of mind, twist, type, undergird, underplay, vein, vitrify, volatility, warm temper, warp, wax, way, weaken