Sekirov Dictionary

temper

UK /ˈtɛmpə/US /ˈtɛmpɚ/

noun 12
verb 10
forms 6
phrases 4

noun12

•
a way of being that makes someone get angry quickly and easily
- Mind your hasty temper!
- He has quite a temper when dealing with salespeople.
•
A general tendency or orientation towards a certain type of mood, a volatile state; a habitual way of thinking, behaving or reacting.
- And it was peculiar in their Temper, that they were fonder of what they could get by Rapine or Stealth at a greater distance, than much better Food provided for them at home. — 1726
•
State of mind; mood.
- Remember with what mild / And gracious temper he both heard and judg’d / Without wrauth or reviling — 1667
•
Anger; a fit of anger.
- When I heard about it I got myself into a terrible temper.
•
Calmness of mind; moderation; equanimity; composure.
- Restore your selues, vnto your temper, Fathers; / And, vvithout perturbation, heare me speake: […] — 1611
The heat treatment to which a metal or other material has been subjected; a material that has undergone a particular heat treatment.
•
The state of a metal or other substance, especially as to its hardness, produced by some process of heating or cooling.
- Between two blades, which bears the better temper: […] / I have perhaps some shallow spirit of judgement; / But in these nice sharp quillets of the law, / Good faith, I am no wiser than a daw. — 1591
The state of any compound substance which results from the mixture of various ingredients; due mixture of different qualities.
A non-plastic material, such as sand, added to clay to prevent shrinkage and cracking during drying or firing; tempering.
•
Middle state or course; mean; medium.
- 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. — 1849
(historical) Milk of lime, or other substance, employed in the process formerly used to clarify sugar.
(no longer used) Constitution of body; the mixture or relative proportion of the four humours: blood, choler, phlegm, and melancholy.

verb10

•
To moderate or control.
- Temper your language around children.
•
To strengthen or toughen a material, especially metal, by heat treatment; anneal.
- Tempering is a heat treatment technique applied to metals, alloys, and glass to achieve greater toughness by increasing the strength of materials and/or ductility. Tempering is performed by a controlled reheating of the work piece to a temperature below its lower eutectic critical temperature.
To adjust the temperature of an ingredient (e.g. eggs or chocolate) gradually so that it remains smooth and pleasing.
To mix clay, plaster or mortar with water to obtain the proper consistency.
•
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.
- Puritan austerity was so tempered by Dutch indifference, that mercy itself could not have dictated a milder system.
To sauté spices in ghee or oil to release essential oils for flavouring a dish in South Asian cuisine.
To adjust, as the mathematical scale to the actual scale, or to that in actual use.
(no longer used) To combine in due proportions; to constitute; to compose.
•
(no longer used) To fit together; to adjust; to accommodate.
- Thy sustenance […] serving to the appetite of the eater, tempered itself to every man's liking. — 1611
•
(no longer used) To govern; to manage.
- With which the damned ghosts he governeth, / And furies rules, and Tartare tempereth. — 1591

forms

temper'd · tempered · tempering · tempereth · tempers · temperest

Phrases with temper

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