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tempered

[tem-perd]
See more synonyms for tempered on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. having a temper or disposition of a specified character (usually used in combination): a good-tempered child.
  2. Music. tuned in accordance with some other temperament than just or pure temperament, especially tuned in equal temperament.
  3. made less intense or violent, especially by the influence of something good or benign: justice tempered with mercy.
  4. properly moistened or mixed, as clay.
  5. Metallurgy. of or relating to steel or cast iron that has been tempered.
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Origin of tempered

Middle English word dating back to 1325–75; see origin at temper, -ed2, -ed3
Related formsnon·tem·pered, adjectiveun·tem·pered, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for untempered

Historical Examples

  • And the sun poured down its untempered rays on the condemned.

    The False Chevalier

    William Douw Lighthall

  • It could not bear the untempered atmosphere of everyday life.

  • He went to the bottom indeed, and did not 'daub with untempered mortar.'

    George Whitefield

    Joseph Belcher

  • Her justice was severe and unbending, and untempered with mercy.

  • The wind was pitiless, untempered even by the shelter of a tree or barn.

    Europe from a Motor Car

    Russell Richardson

British Dictionary definitions for untempered

tempered

adjective
  1. music
    1. (of a scale) having the frequency differences between notes adjusted in accordance with the system of equal temperamentSee temperament
    2. (of an interval) expanded or contracted from the state of being pure
  2. (in combination) having a temper or temperament as specifiedill-tempered
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for untempered

adj.

1570s, from un- (1) "not" + past participle of temper (v.). Cf. Middle Dutch ongetempert, Middle High German ungetempert.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper