I. tem ‧ per 1 /ˈtempə $ -ər/ BrE AmE noun
1 . [uncountable and countable] a tendency to become angry suddenly or easily:
That temper of hers will get her into trouble one of these days.
According to Nathan, Robin has quite a temper.
Theo needs to learn to control his temper.
quick/bad/fiery etc temper
Be careful, he’s got a pretty violent temper.
tempers flare (also tempers become frayed )British English (=people become angry)
Mason’s temper flared when he spotted his girlfriend kissing another man.
2 . lose your temper to suddenly become very angry so that you cannot control yourself:
I’ve never seen Vic lose his temper.
3 . [singular, uncountable] the way you are feeling at a particular time, especially when you are feeling angry for a short time
in a temper
It’s no use talking to him when he’s in a temper.
Pete hit his brother in a fit of temper.
be in a bad/foul temper (=to be angry)
Watch out – she’s been in a foul temper all day.
fly into a temper
Her boss would fly into a temper if a project wasn’t done on time.
4 . keep your temper to stay calm when it would be easy to get angry:
I was finding it increasingly difficult to keep my temper.
5 . good-tempered/foul-tempered/quick-tempered etc having a good, bad temper etc:
Minnie was always good-tempered and agreeable.
6 . [singular] formal the general attitude that people have in a particular place at one time
temper of
the temper of life in Renaissance Italy
⇨ ↑ bad-tempered , ↑ even-tempered , ↑ ill-tempered
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meanings 1,2,3 & 4)
■ adjectives
▪ a quick/short temper (=likely to get angry very easily)
He’s got a quick temper, which gets him into trouble.
▪ a bad/terrible/nasty temper
He ran back home in a terrible temper.
▪ a fiery/violent/explosive temper (=likely to get angry and violent very quickly)
Over the years, my sister has learned to control her fiery temper.
■ verbs
▪ have a temper
Grandad had quite a temper, so we usually tried to keep out of his way.
▪ be in a temper
She banged doors and screamed at her mother when she was in a temper.
▪ control/keep your temper
She tried to speak calmly and control her temper.
▪ lose your temper (=become angry)
It was hot and I was beginning to lose my temper.
▪ fly into a temper (=suddenly become very angry)
He flew into a temper at the slightest thing.
▪ sb’s temper flares (=they become angry)
On bad days, Elaine’s temper would flare into a violent rage.
■ phrases
▪ a fit/flash/burst of temper (=when you are very angry for a short time)
A businessman assaulted his wife and son in a fit of temper, a court heard yesterday.
▪ tempers get/become frayed British English (=people become annoyed)
People were pushing each other, and tempers were becoming frayed.
▪ a temper tantrum (=a time when someone, especially a child, behaves very angrily and unreasonably)
My nephew has temper tantrums if he can’t get his own way.
II. temper 2 BrE AmE verb [transitive]
[ Date: 900-1000 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: temperare 'to divide up properly, mix, keep within proper limits, temper' ]
1 . formal to make something less severe or extreme
temper something with/by something
The heat in this coastal town is tempered by cool sea breezes.
2 . to make metal as hard as is needed by heating it and then putting it in cold water:
tempered steel