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temperament
[ tem-per-uh-muhnt, -pruh-muhnt, -per-muhnt ]
noun
- the combination of mental, physical, and emotional traits of a person; natural predisposition.
Synonyms: ,
- unusual personal attitude or nature as manifested by peculiarities of feeling, temper, action, etc., often with a disinclination to submit to conventional rules or restraints.
- (old physiology) the combination of the four cardinal humors, the relative proportions of which were supposed to determine physical and mental constitution.
- Music.
- the tuning of a keyboard instrument, as the piano, organ, or harpsichord, so that the instrument may be played in all keys without further tuning.
- a particular system of doing this.
- Archaic. an act of tempering or moderating.
- Archaic. climate.
temperament
/ -prəmənt; ˈtɛmpərəmənt /
noun
- an individual's character, disposition, and tendencies as revealed in his reactions
- excitability, moodiness, or anger, esp when displayed openly
an actress with temperament
- the characteristic way an individual behaves, esp towards other people See also character personality
- an adjustment made to the frequency differences between notes on a keyboard instrument to allow modulation to other keys
- any of several systems of such adjustment, such as just temperament, a system not practically possible on keyboard instruments, mean-tone temperament, a system giving an approximation to natural tuning, and equal temperament, the system commonly used in keyboard instruments, giving a scale based on an octave divided into twelve exactly equal semitones See also just intonation
- obsolete.the characteristic way an individual behaves, viewed as the result of the influence of the four humours (blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile)
- archaic.compromise or adjustment
- an obsolete word for temperature
Word History and Origins
Origin of temperament1
Word History and Origins
Origin of temperament1
Synonym Study
Example Sentences
A 2015 study found this technique also improved participant’s temperament and reduced their interpersonal problems.
A proven performer in the long format of the game, Higgins, who turns 50 in May, has the temperament and talent to claim his first world title since winning a fourth in 2011.
He was questioning the fans, but also his players' temperament.
The same could not be said of his temperament because of the weighty burden of an 11-year wait for his fifth major win.
For a good while, the breezy chuckles in “Sacramento” stem from the eccentric clash of priorities and temperaments of a certain kind of limbo male whose sociability skills have soured.
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