temperament
Americannoun
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the combination of mental, physical, and emotional traits of a person; natural predisposition.
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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.
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(old physiology) the combination of the four cardinal humors, the relative proportions of which were supposed to determine physical and mental constitution.
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Music.
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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.
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a particular system of doing this.
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Archaic. an act of tempering or moderating.
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Archaic. climate.
noun
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an individual's character, disposition, and tendencies as revealed in his reactions
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excitability, moodiness, or anger, esp when displayed openly
an actress with temperament
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the characteristic way an individual behaves, esp towards other people See also character personality
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an adjustment made to the frequency differences between notes on a keyboard instrument to allow modulation to other keys
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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
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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)
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archaic compromise or adjustment
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an obsolete word for temperature
Related Words
See disposition.
Etymology
Origin of temperament
1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin temperāmentum due mixture, equivalent to temperā ( re ) to mix properly + -mentum -ment
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This would have been the kind of chase that Virat Kohli would have masterfully approached in the past - one where temperament was as pertinent a factor as talent.
From BBC
Knowing what the stranger looked like didn’t explain what the stranger was like in personality and temperament.
From Literature
Backstage at the Blue Note jazz club, Wyclef Jean spreads out on a couch with the air of a sunned cat, his temperament dialed warm.
From Los Angeles Times
His peacenik bonafides never seemed very believable considering his violent, hostile temperament, but they did become part of his brand.
From Salon
The wider questions, however, surround Arsenal's temperament to withstand the pressure that is suddenly closing in on them, an ominous reminder of previous failings.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
