temper
noun
1. a sudden outburst of anger
- his temper sparked like damp firewood
Similar word(s): irritation, pique
Definition categories: feeling, annoyance, chafe, vexation
2. a characteristic (habitual or relatively temporary) state of feeling
- whether he praised or cursed me depended on his temper at the time
Similar word(s): humor, humour, mood
Definition categories: feeling
3. a disposition to exhibit uncontrolled anger
- his temper was well known to all his employees
Similar word(s): biliousness, irritability, peevishness, pettishness, snappishness, surliness
Definition categories: attribute
4. the elasticity and hardness of a metal object; its ability to absorb considerable energy before cracking
Similar word(s): toughness
Definition categories: attribute, elasticity, snap
Sentences with temper as a noun:
- to have a good, bad, calm, or hasty temper
- He has quite a (bad) temper when dealing with salespeople.
- the temper of mortar
- to keep one's temper
- the temper of iron or steel
verb
1. bring to a desired consistency, texture, or hardness by a process of gradually heating and cooling
- temper glass
Similar word(s): anneal, normalize
Definition categories: change, harden, indurate
2. harden by reheating and cooling in oil
- temper steel
Similar word(s): harden
Definition categories: change, modify
3. adjust the pitch (of pianos)
Definition categories: change, adjust, correct, set
4. make more temperate, acceptable, or suitable by adding something else
- she tempered her criticism
Similar word(s): moderate, mollify, season
Definition categories: change, weaken
5. change by restraining or moderating
Similar word(s): chasten
Definition categories: change, alter, modify
Sentences with temper as a verb:
- Temper your language around children.
- Tempering is a heat treatment technique applied to metals, alloys, and glass to achieve greater toughness by increasing the strength of materials and/or ductility. Tempering is performed by a controlled reheating of the work piece to a temperature below its lower eutectic critical temperature.