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temper

tem·per

UK/ˈtɛmpə/ US/ˈtɛmpɚ/ common
noun (4) verb (5)

noun

1.

a sudden outburst of anger

  • “his temper sparked like damp firewood”
Synonyms
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”
Synonyms
3.

a disposition to exhibit uncontrolled anger

  • “his temper was well known to all his employees”
Synonyms
4.

verb

1.

toughen (steel or glass) by a process of gradually heating and cooling

  • “temper glass”
Synonyms
2.

harden by reheating and cooling in oil

  • “temper steel”
Synonyms
3.

adjust the pitch (of pianos)

4.

make more temperate, acceptable, or suitable by adding something else; moderate

  • “she tempered her criticism”
Synonyms
5.

Origin

From Middle English temperen, tempren, from Old English ġetemprian, temprian, borrowed from Latin temperō (“(transitive) to divide or proportion duly, to moderate, to regulate; (intransitive) to be moderate, temperate”), from tempus (“time, fit season”). Compare also French tempérer. Doublet of tamper. See temporal.

Phrases

  • bad temper
  • keep one's temper
  • lose one's temper
  • out of temper
  • short temper
  • temper foam
  • temper of the times
  • temper screw

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.