temper

B1 Topic:Emotions & Feelings

US /ˈtɛmpɚ/ UK /ˈtɛmpə/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like tamper /ɛ/ vs /æ/

Freq #4199

Meanings

1

noun
A tendency to become angry quickly.

He has a bad temper and shouts when things go wrong.
2

noun
A sudden burst of anger.

She lost her temper and slammed the door.
3

noun
Someone's general mood or state of mind.

He was in a calm temper that morning.
4

verb
To make metal or glass harder and stronger by heating and then cooling it.

The blacksmith tempered the steel to make it tough.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a tendency to become angry... irritability

2 noun · a sudden burst of anger. irritation

3 noun · someone's general mood or... humour mood

4 verb · to make metal or glass... harden anneal

Word family

Forms temperedtemperingtempers

Derived forms bad-temperedeven-temperedgood-temperedhot-temperedill-temperedmistempernontemperingquick-temperedretempershort-temperedsweet-temperedtemperable

Related forms contemperdistemper temperament temperance temperate

Etymology

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.

temperen Middle English ġetemprian Old English temperō Latin

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Topics

Emotions & Feelings Materials & Substances

External links

# temper

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈtɛmpɚ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈtɛmpə/
**Frequency rank:** 4199

## Meanings
1. A tendency to become angry quickly.
2. A sudden burst of anger.
3. Someone's general mood or state of mind.
4. To make metal or glass harder and stronger by heating and then cooling it.

## Examples
- He has a bad temper and shouts when things go wrong.
- She lost her temper and slammed the door.
- He was in a calm temper that morning.
- The blacksmith tempered the steel to make it tough.

## Derived Forms
- bad-tempered
- even-tempered
- good-tempered
- hot-tempered
- ill-tempered
- mistemper
- nontempering
- quick-tempered
- retemper
- short-tempered
- sweet-tempered
- temperable

## Related Forms
- contemper
- distemper
- temperament
- temperance
- temperate

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: temperen
- Root: ġetemprian
- Root: temperō

## Etymology
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.

## AI Etymology
Temper is 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. In present-day use, it can mean a tendency to become angry quickly, or a sudden burst of anger.

## Topics
- Emotions & Feelings
- Materials & Substances

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temper

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