temperate
tem·pe·rate/ˈtɛmpəɹət/adjective
temperate is spelled T-E-M-P-E-R-A-T-E, 3 syllables: tem·pe·rate. The wrong spelling people search most is temparate: about 10 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 116 of all searches for the word. Temperate is an adjective meaning “Moderate; not excessive”.
How many letters and syllables are in temperate?
| Letters | 9: T-E-M-P-E-R-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: tem·pe·rate |
| In writing | 2.1 times per million words; the 18,811th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, temparate, about 10 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How do you spell temperate?
Temperate is spelled T-E-M-P-E-R-A-T-E. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 116 of the searches for temperate in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is temperate?
Temperate appears 2.1 times per million words in written English, the 18,811th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce temperate?
- /ˈtɛmpəɹət/
Temperate has 3 syllables, split tem·pe·rate in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-temperate.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of temperate
- more temperate comparative
- most temperate superlative
- temperates present, singular, he/she/it
- temperating participle, present
- temperated participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does temperate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Moderate; not excessive.
temperate heat
- 2
Specifically, moderate in temperature.
These trees can only grow in temperate climates.
- 3
Moderate in the indulgence of the natural appetites or passions
temperate in eating and drinking.
- 4
Proceeding from temperance.
- 5
Dependent on life in a temperate climate.
temperate fishes
verb
- 1
obsoleteTo render temperate; to moderate
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Temperate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | tempéré |
| German | gemäßigt , zurückhaltend |
| Portuguese | temperado, ameno , comedido , amenizar |
| Spanish | templado, temperado, ameno |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does temperate come from?
The adjective is first attested in 1380, in Middle English, the verb in 1540; borrowed from Latin temperātus, perfect passive participle of temperō (“to moderate, forbear, combine properly”), see -ate (adjective-forming suffix) and -ate (verb-forming suffix). See temper. Displaced native Old English ġemetegod.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).