# noun. - a person's state of mind seen in terms of their being angry or calm. * he rushed out in a very bad temper - the degree of hardness and elasticity in steel or other metal. * the blade rapidly heats up and the metal loses its temper
# verb. - improve the hardness and elasticity of (steel or other metal) by reheating and then cooling it. * the way a smith would temper a sword - act as a neutralizing or counterbalancing force to (something). * their idealism is tempered with realism - tune (a piano or other instrument) so as to adjust the note intervals correctly.