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
Related Words
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.
They’re found around the globe, mostly in subtropical and temperate regions of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans, and in the Mediterranean Sea, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
From Los Angeles Times • May 16, 2026
I’m all too aware of how quickly behavior can turn compulsive and how even the most temperate individual can unknowingly find themselves in over their head.
From Slate • May 5, 2026
While humans cause most fires in the tropics, climate change is intensifying natural fire cycles in northern and temperate regions, the researchers said.
From Barron's • Apr. 29, 2026
The findings add to growing evidence that small, protected areas known as "microrefugia" allowed temperate plant species to survive harsh Ice Age conditions in northern Europe.
From Science Daily • Apr. 17, 2026
“That’s the point. According to Grumman, the earth’s magnetic field changed dramatically at various times in the past, and the earth’s axis actually moved, too, so that temperate areas became ice-bound.”
From "The Subtle Knife" by Philip Pullman
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.
