Attemper

//əˈtɛm.pə(ɹ)// verb

verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To temper by adjusting relative quantities, or blending qualities.
  2. 2
    modify the temperature of wordnet
  3. 3
    To mitigate, assuage.

    "But we must add, that she did say, by way of attempering her pleasure: "Well! I must say I never saw a finer young man in my life—indeed I don’t know that the court of Great Britain quite boasts his equal..."

  4. 4
    To regulate, arrange, organise. archaic

    "Thus fairely she attempered her feast, / And pleasd them all with meete satietie [...]."

Example

More examples

"But we must add, that she did say, by way of attempering her pleasure: "Well! I must say I never saw a finer young man in my life—indeed I don’t know that the court of Great Britain quite boasts his equal..."

Etymology

From Middle English attempren, from Old French atemprer (French attremper), from Latin attemperare. Doublet of attemperate.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.