tempernoun
uk/ˈtem.pər/us/ˈtem.pɚ/B2 [ C often singular ] the tendency to become angry very quickly:
She has a real temper.
He's got a really bad temper.
lose your temper
B2 to suddenly become angry:
The children behaved so badly that I lost my temper.
keep your temper
C2 to succeed in staying calm and not becoming angry:
I found it hard to keep my temper with so many things going wrong.
be in a bad, foul, etc. temper
to be feeling angry:
I'd stay away from her if I were you - she's in a foul temper.
[ S or U ] formal or literary mood or emotional state:
He appears to be a man of calm and even temper.
More examples
- You're going to have to learn to control your temper.
- Her temper hasn't improved with age!
- His detractors claim that his fierce temper makes him unsuitable for party leadership.
- She has an explosive temper.
- In a fit of temper he hurled the book across the room.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Becoming angry and expressing anger
- (almost) burst a blood vessel idiom
- ape
- ballistic
- bananas
- bay for blood idiom
- froth
- get bent out of shape idiom
- get your knickers in a twist idiom
- go ape idiom
- go nuts idiom
- go off the deep end idiom
- launch
- lose
- postal
- sharp
- storm
- tempers get frayed idiom
- turn in your grave idiom
- umbrage
- wobbly
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Controlling emotions
Angry and displeased
Moods
Idiom(s)
tempers get frayed
temperverb [ T ]
uk/ˈtem.pər/us/ˈtem.pɚ/temper verb [ T ] (REDUCE)
formal to make something less strong, extreme, etc.:
My enthusiasm for the venture was tempered by my knowledge of the hard work that would be involved.
I learned to temper my criticism.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Becoming and making less strong
- abate
- adulterate
- attenuate
- attrition
- blow over
- blunt
- deflate
- dial
- dim
- emasculate
- flagging
- jelly
- keep sb down
- knock/take the stuffing out of sb/sth idiom
- muffle
- neutralize
- pine
- sag
- shake
- wither on the vine idiom
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Becoming and making smaller or less
temper verb [ T ] (METAL)
to heat and then cool a metal in order to make it hard:
tempered steel
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Hard and firm
- (as) stiff/straight as a ramrod idiom
- adamantine
- cast iron
- congeal
- crisp
- crispy
- crunchy
- fossilized
- hard
- harden
- horny
- ossification
- ossify
- petrified
- ramrod
- solid
- stiff
- stiffly
- stiffness
- unyielding
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