Definition of TEMPERED

tempered

Meanings

Verb

  • bring to a desired consistency, texture, or hardness by a process of gradually heating and cooling
  • harden by reheating and cooling in oil
  • adjust the pitch (of pianos)
  • make more temperate, acceptable, or suitable by adding something else; moderate
    • "she tempered her criticism"
  • restrain
  • simple past and past participle of temper

Adjective

  • made hard or flexible or resilient especially by heat treatment
    • "a sword of tempered steel"
    • "tempered glass"
  • adjusted or attuned by adding a counterbalancing element
    • "criticism tempered with kindly sympathy"

Adj

  • Having a specified disposition or temper.
  • Pertaining to the metallurgical process for finishing metals.
  • Pertaining to the industrial process for toughening glass, or to such toughened glass.
  • Moderated or balanced by other considerations.
  • Pertaining to the well-tempered scale, where the twelve notes per octave of the standard keyboard are tuned in such a way that it is possible to play music in any major or minor key and it will not sound perceptibly out of tune.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English tempred, itempered, ytempred, ytemprid, from Old English ġetemprod (“tempered, moderate, goverened, cured”), past participle of Old English ġetemprian (“to temper, moderate, govern, cure”), equivalent to temper + -ed.

Antonyms

untempered

Scrabble Score: 13

tempered is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
tempered is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
tempered is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 15

tempered is a valid Words With Friends word