| Temper 1. (v. t.) 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. 2. (v. t.) To fit together; to adjust; to accommodate. 3. (v. t.) To bring to a proper degree of hardness; as, to temper iron or steel. 4. (v. t.) To govern; to manage. 5. (v. t.) To moisten to a proper consistency and stir thoroughly, as clay for making brick, loam for molding, etc. 6. (v. t.) To adjust, as the mathematical scale to the actual scale, or to that in actual use. 7. (n.) 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. 8. (n.) Constitution of body; temperament; in old writers, the mixture or relative proportion of the four humors, blood, choler, phlegm, and melancholy. 9. (n.) 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. 10. (n.) Calmness of mind; moderation; equanimity; composure; as, to keep one's temper. 11. (n.) Heat of mind or passion; irritation; proneness to anger; -- in a reproachful sense. 12. (n.) 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. 13. (n.) Middle state or course; mean; medium. 14. (n.) Milk of lime, or other substance, employed in the process formerly used to clarify sugar. 15. (v. i.) To accord; to agree; to act and think in conformity. 16. (v. i.) To have or get a proper or desired state or quality; to grow soft and pliable. Thesaurus Entries 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 |