Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Exercising moderation and self-restraint: learned to be temperate in eating and drinking.
- adj. Moderate in degree or quality; restrained: temperate criticism.
- adj. Characterized by moderate temperatures, weather, or climate; neither hot nor cold.
- adj. Biology Of or relating to a virus that infects bacterial cells but rarely causes lysis: temperate bacteriophages.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Moderate; showing moderation; not excessive, lavish, or inordinate.
- More especially— Moderate as regards the indulgence of the appetites or desires; abstemious; sober; continent: as, temperate in eating; temperate habits.
- Not violent or extravagant in the use of language; calm; measured; dispassionate: as, a temperate discourse.
- Not swayed by passion; calm; self-contained; self-restrained; not extreme in opinions.
- Proceeding from temperance; moderate.
- Moderate in respect of temperature; not liable to excessive heat or cold; mild; specifically, noting certain zones of the earth's surface.
- In music, same as tempered.
- = Syn. 1-4. Moderate, Temperate. See moderate.
- To temper; moderate.
Wiktionary
- adj. Moderate; not excessive; as, temperate heat; a temperate climate.
- adj. Moderate in the indulgence of the natural appetites or passions; as, temperate in eating and drinking.
- adj. Proceeding from temperance.
- v. obsolete To render temperate; to moderate; to soften; to temper.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Moderate; not excessive.
- adj. Not marked with passion; not violent; cool; calm.
- adj. Moderate in the indulgence of the natural appetites or passions.
- adj. rare Proceeding from temperance.
- v. obsolete To render temperate; to moderate; to soften; to temper.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. not extreme
- adj. (of weather or climate) free from extremes; mild; or characteristic of such weather or climate
- adj. not extreme in behavior
Etymologies
- Latin temperatus, past participle of temperare ("moderate, forbear, combine properly"). See temper. (Wiktionary)
- Middle English temperat, from Latin temperātus, from past participle of temperāre, to temper; see temper. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“I would like your temperate drinker to pause, and reflect upon the fact, that the quantity of brandy or rum that he took at a drink, when he commenced this downhill course, has been gradually increased; so that in the second year, what had been quite sufficient to please his palate and produce all the desired effects in the first, was then insipidly small; and more so in the third year, if, mayhap, he could with any decency lay claim to the title of _temperate drinker_ so long.”
“The speleologists have been so busy up here in what we call the temperate zone that they haven't had a chance or the inclination to take their lights any deeper.”
Flinx In Flux
“Who will indulge in what he calls the temperate use, flattering himself that he can control his appetite, when thousands, who have boasted of _self-control_, have found themselves, ere they were aware, within the coil of a serpent whose touch is poison, and whose sting is death?”
“The cold rushes in at every crack of door and window, apparently signaled by the flame to invade the house and fill it with chilly drafts and sarcasms on what we call the temperate zone.”
“Chilly drafts and sarcasms on what we call the temperate zone”
“On the contrary, when the heat of the air falls below what we call temperate, or when cold is applied to the body, from the accustomed stimulus of heat being diminished, the excitability must accumulate, or become more liable to be affected by the action of the external powers.”
“Vengeance is mine," saith the Lord, and He saith it in temperate climes where the warm sun steals away the energies of men.”
“The plant can be greenhouse grown in temperate climates.”
Ponytail palm, croton and dwarf poinciana: ornamental plants and flowers of tropical Mexico
“Persistent rainfall of 80″ or more in temperate climates is pretty rare.”
“The Northern Hemisphere has experienced a WILD growth in temperate since January!”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘temperate’.
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to memorize
words i need to memorize
aberrant, abscond, advocate, aggrandize, amalgamate, ambiguous, ambrosial, anomalous, antediluvian, antipathy, arbitrate, assuage and 163 more...
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ChortleGiggleSnort
Significant Words- Guiding you on your path to Snazzibility
flimsy, feeble, ranting, ramble, narky, snazzy, yoghurt, bulbous, pustule, globulous, geranium, megalomaniac and 521 more...
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SoSheShall's list
slurp, coeur, slurple, glop, perp, fluarxx, ropechno, herrherr, burrduhherrherr, sloppy, cheezie balls, eccentric and 634 more...
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billy shakespeare's guide to good living
hurlyburly, nave, direful, whence, sooth, dwindle, tempest-tost, withal, selfsame, wrack, unfix, recompense and 142 more...
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Misc. Words.
Words I like to use, words I like but may forget.
corrosion, astonish, solace, ferment, continuum, kinesthetic, permeate, repose, caprice, cardinal, discourse, surrender and 610 more...
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From Book - SAT & College Dictionary ...
ebb, exotic, immure, abeyance, panegyric, debonair, protege, dissipate, frantic, penitent, abject, edify and 871 more...
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my dictionary
able, abnormally, abroad, absent, abstract, acceptable, acceptance, access, accessible, accession, according to, account and 4551 more...
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What, another list?
ravishing, ravenous, pronk, brinksmanship, jaspe, mottle, chasm, testy, temperament, ponder, personally, phantom and 206 more...
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Just 'cause I like 'em, T
torquate, thalassocracy, toothsome, travois, tempestuous, tone, tincture, tripwire, tether, trill, tenacious, travesty and 355 more...
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ash
ash
abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abide, abject, abjure and 4874 more...
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Norman Lewis
All Words
ebullient, eccentric, eclectic, edify, efface, effusion, egalitarian, egocentric, egoist, egregious, elicit, elliptical and 907 more...
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Words otherwise of note
palinode, discubation, apophasis, agathokakological, lachrymose, superfluous, gerund, serendipity, avuncular, onomatopoeia, chagrin, copacetic and 100 more...
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gre word list
contains d gre words
abate, ascetic, spartan, aristocrat, loathe, detest, odious, abrade, scrimp, scrunch, abridge, concise and 66 more...
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Biomes
From 9th grade bio!
tundra, taiga, forest, coniferous, broadleaf, savannah, steppe, prairie, heath, temperate, woodland, scrubland and 7 more...
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difficult-list46
tantrum, tarry, tatty, tawdry, tedium, temerity, temperament, temperate, temporal, temporize, tenacious, tenacity and 25 more...
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T
words starting with letter t
tonsure, topography, torpor, torrent, torrid, tortuous, totter, touchstone, touchy, tout, tract, tractable and 78 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for temperate.
bilby No, I'm a passing thunderstorm, especially on Thursdays. Mar 19, 2009
drummerboy4476 Shall I compare thee to a summer's day... Mar 19, 2009