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Definition of "temper" []

  • To modify by the addition of a moderating element; moderate: "temper its doctrinaire logic with a little practical wisdom” ( Robert H. Jackson). See Synonyms at moderate. (verb-transitive)
  • To bring to a desired consistency, texture, hardness, or other physical condition by or as if by blending, admixing, or kneading: temper clay; paints that had been tempered with oil. (verb-transitive)
  • To harden or strengthen (metal or glass) by application of heat or by heating and cooling. (verb-transitive)
  • To strengthen through experience or hardship; toughen: soldiers who had been tempered by combat. (verb-transitive)
  • To adjust finely; attune: a portfolio that is tempered to the investor's needs. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "temper" in a sentence
  • "They would make the expression = _This temper, your temper_."
  • "V. ii.253 (512,2) It was a sword of Spain, the ice-brook's temper] [In the first edition it is, _Isebroke's temper_."
  • "The man who works upon brass and iron, works with instruments and upon materials of which the temper is always the same, or very nearly the same."