temperate
Americanadjective
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moderate or self-restrained; not extreme in opinion, statement, etc..
a temperate response to an insulting challenge.
- Synonyms:
- dispassionate, sober
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moderate as regards indulgence of appetite or passion, especially in the use of alcoholic liquors.
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not excessive in degree, as things, qualities, etc.
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moderate in respect to temperature; not subject to prolonged extremes of hot or cold weather.
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Microbiology. (of a virus) existing in infected host cells but rarely causing lysis.
adjective
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having a climate intermediate between tropical and polar; moderate or mild in temperature
-
mild in quality or character; exhibiting temperance
Synonym Usage
See moderate.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of temperate
1350–1400; Middle English temperat < Latin temperātus, past participle of temperāre to exercise restraint, control. See temper, -ate 1
Explanation
Temperate means mild, moderate. If you're a temperate person, you are calm, reasonable. If you live in a temperate climate, it's warm and sunny, but not too hot. Like other words that sound similar, temperate has to do with measurement and range. Temperatures measure how hot and cold things are and someone with a temper is hot-headed or intemperate, the opposite of this word. A temperate person's life motto is summed up by Goldilocks: not too hot and not too cold, just right.
Vocabulary lists containing temperate
List 6
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Weather and Climate - Introductory
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The United States
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Temperature variations and anomalies in countries close to the equator are typically smaller than in temperate climates.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
A key finding was that the environment the birds evolved in - from tropical forest to temperate landscape - shaped how they "composed" their songs.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
That finding suggests some tidally locked exoplanets could maintain localized geothermal environments that provide conditions favorable for life, particularly in more temperate mid latitudes.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 9, 2026
Argentina, England, the Netherlands and Algeria chose Kansas City as their base camps because of the large number of elite-level training grounds, temperate climate and central location.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026
Thus, Eurasia’s west-east axis allowed Fertile Crescent crops quickly to launch agriculture over the band of temperate latitudes from Ireland to the Indus Valley, and to enrich the agriculture that arose independently in eastern Asia.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
