Definition

1. Noun:

   • A person's state of mind or feelings, especially regarding anger: A characteristic emotional state or mood, often temporary. It can refer to a tendency to become angry easily.
   • A sudden outburst of anger: A fit or display of anger.
   • Calmness of mind; composure: The ability to control one's anger.
   • The degree of hardness and resilience in a material: Specifically, the hardness and elasticity imparted to steel or glass by a process of heating and cooling.

2. Verb:

   • To moderate or soften the effect of something: To make something less extreme, severe, or intense by adding another element.
   • To bring something to a desired consistency or hardness: To treat metal or glass by heating and cooling to achieve specific properties.
   • To adjust the pitch of a musical instrument: To tune or adjust, particularly for pianos.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:

  • She has a very calm temper. (She is generally a calm person.)
  • He lost his temper during the argument. (He became very angry.)
  • It's important to keep your temper in stressful situations. (It's important to remain calm.)
  • The steel has a fine temper. (The steel has been treated to be hard and resilient.)

• Verb:

  • He tempered his criticism with words of encouragement. (He made his criticism less harsh by adding encouragement.)
  • The blacksmith tempered the blade in oil. (The blacksmith hardened the metal blade by heating and then cooling it in oil.)
  • The instrument needs to be tempered. (The instrument needs its pitch adjusted.)

Advanced Usage

• "To be in a bad/good temper": To be in a bad/good mood.
  • She's been in a bad temper all morning. (She has been in a bad mood.)
• "A fit of temper": A sudden, uncontrolled outburst of anger.
  • He threw the book in a fit of temper. (He threw the book in a sudden angry outburst.)
• "To temper justice with mercy": To combine strict justice with leniency.
  • The judge tempered justice with mercy for the first-time offender. (The judge was strict but also showed kindness.)

Variants and Related Words

• Temperamental (adj): Relating to a person's temperament; liable to unpredictable changes of mood.
  • The actor was known for being temperamental. (The actor was known for having unpredictable moods.)
• Temperance (n): Moderation or self-restraint, especially in eating and drinking.
  • He practiced temperance and never drank alcohol. (He showed self-control by not drinking alcohol.)
• Tempered (adj): Having been treated to achieve a desired hardness; or, moderated in intensity.
  • It was a strongly worded but tempered response. (It was a strong but moderated response.)
  • This is made from tempered glass. (This is made from glass treated to be strong.)

Synonyms

• Noun (mood/anger): Disposition, mood, humor, irritation, rage, composure, calm.
• Verb (moderate): Moderate, soften, mitigate, alleviate, restrain.

Related Phrasal Verbs

(Note: "Temper" is not commonly used in phrasal verb constructions. Its meanings are typically expressed directly.)

Related Idioms

• "Keep/lose one's temper": To maintain/cease to maintain self-control, especially over anger.
  • Despite the provocation, she kept her temper. (She stayed calm even though she was provoked.)
  • He lost his temper when he saw the mess. (He became very angry.)
• "Short temper": A tendency to become angry very quickly.
  • Be careful what you say; he has a very short temper. (Be careful because he angers easily.)
• "Even-tempered": Consistently calm and not easily angered.
  • She is very even-tempered, even under pressure. (She remains calm even when stressed.)

Noun

1. the elasticity and hardness of a metal object; its ability to absorb considerable energy before cracking
2. a disposition to exhibit uncontrolled anger
   • his temper was well known to all his employees
3. 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
4. a sudden outburst of anger
   • his temper sparked like damp firewood

Verb

1. restrain
2. make more temperate, acceptable, or suitable by adding something else; moderate
   • she tempered her criticism
3. adjust the pitch (of pianos)
4. harden by reheating and cooling in oil
   • temper steel
5. bring to a desired consistency, texture, or hardness by a process of gradually heating and cooling
   • temper glass