temper
temper noun
/ˈtempə(r)/
/ˈtempər/
Idioms
to have a fiery/hot/violent temper
He must learn to control his temper.
After an hour of waiting, tempers began to fray (= people began to get angry).
He has a nasty temper.
He had to learn to keep his temper under control before he could become a teacher.
Frayed tempers at the end of the match led to three players being sent off.
Tempers flared as the traffic jam became worse.
Collocations
adjective
… of temper
verb + temper
temper + verb
temper + noun
preposition
in a temper
phrases
keep your temper in check
keep your temper under control
in a temper She says awful things when she's in a temper.
He stormed out of the room in a temper.
to fly into a temper
She broke the plates in a fit of temper.
Some small children have terrible temper tantrums.
3 countable the way that you are feeling at a particular time in a… temper Come back when you're in a better temper.
to be in a bad/foul temper
She regained her good temper after a chat.
Peter's comments were responsible for her ill temper.
I wasn't in the best of tempers when I arrived at the meeting.
Collocations
adjective
verb + temper
temper + verb
preposition
in a temper
4 -tempered (in adjectives) having a particular type of temper
good-/bad-tempered
a sweet-tempered child
Idioms
e.g.
temper
/ˈtempə(r)/
1 (formal) to make something less severe by adding something that has the opposite effect
be tempered with something Justice must be tempered with mercy.
be tempered by something The hot sunny days were tempered by a light breeze.
His delight was tempered by regret.
2 (specialist) to make metal as hard as it needs to be by heating and then cooling it
be tempered The blade is hardened and tempered so that it resists damage.
tempered steel
e.g.
Word Origin
Old English temprian ‘bring something into the required condition by mixing it with something else’, from Latin temperare ‘mingle, restrain’. Sense development was probably influenced by Old French temprer ‘to temper, moderate’. The noun originally denoted a proportionate mixture of elements or qualities, also the combination of the four bodily humours, believed in medieval times to be the basis of temperament, hence senses (1) to (3) (late Middle English). Compare with temperament.