tempered

Tempered is defined as made harder by adding heat or some substance, or adjusting your temperament.

(verb)

  1. When steel is reheated and then cooled in order to make it harder, this is an example of when the steel is tempered.
  2. When you yell at someone and criticize them but then provide some positive feedback, this is an example of when you tempered your criticism.

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See tempered in Webster's New World College Dictionary

adjective

  1. having been given the desired temper, consistency, hardness, etc.: tempered steel
  2. modified by addition of or mixture with other qualities, ingredients, etc.: the mercy in a tempered justice
  3. having a (specified kind of) temper: bad-tempered
  4. Music adjusted to a temperament, esp. equal temperament

See tempered in American Heritage Dictionary 4

adjective
  1. Having a specified temper or disposition. Often used in combination: sweet-tempered; ill-tempered.
  2. Adjusted or attuned by the addition of a counterbalancing element; moderated or measured: “prepare the country to expect hard choices and to appreciate tempered values and moderation in private and public life” (Haynes Johnson).
  3. Made appropriately hard or flexible by tempering: a sword of tempered steel.
  4. Having the requisite degree of hardness or elasticity. Used of glass or a metal.
  5. Music Tuned to temperament. Used of a scale, an interval, semitone, or intonation.
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