tempered
adjective, verb
tempered is spelled T-E-M-P-E-R-E-D: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 3.4 times per million words in written English, the 14,307th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, tempered means “Having a specified disposition or temper” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in tempered?
| Letters | 8: T-E-M-P-E-R-E-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.4 times per million words; the 14,307th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is tempered?
Tempered appears 3.4 times per million words in written English, the 14,307th 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 tempered?
- US
Tempered has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-tempered.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What does tempered mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Having a specified disposition or temper.
even-tempered
- 2
Pertaining to the metallurgical process for finishing metals.
- 3
Pertaining to the industrial process for toughening glass, or to such toughened glass.
- 4
Moderated or balanced by other considerations.
- 5
Pertaining to the well-tempered scale, where the twelve notes per octave of the standard keyboard are tuned in such a way that it is possible to play music in any major or minor key and it will not sound perceptibly out of tune.
verb
- 1
simple past and past participle of temper
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Tempered in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense pertaining to the industrial process for toughening glass, or to such toughened :
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Spanish | templado, temperado |
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 tempered come from?
From Middle English tempred, itempered, ytempred, ytemprid, from Old English ġetemprod (“tempered, moderate, goverened, cured”), past participle of Old English ġetemprian (“to temper, moderate, govern, cure”), equivalent to temper + -ed.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).