All 6 Uses of
tempered
in
Jane Eyre
- Mrs. Fairfax turned out to be what she appeared, a placid-tempered, kind-natured woman, of competent education and average intelligence.
p. 128.1tempered = typical mood or way of behaving
- "And what a sweet-tempered forehead he has!" cried Louisa, — "so smooth — none of those frowning irregularities I dislike so much; and such a placid eye and smile!"
p. 221.8sweet-tempered = not easily angered or upset
- Feeling without judgment is a washy draught indeed; but judgment untempered by feeling is too bitter and husky a morsel for human deglutition.
p. 272.9untempered = not made less extremestandard prefix: The prefix "un-" in untempered means not and reverses the meaning of tempered. This is the same pattern you see in words like unhappy, unknown, and unlucky.
- Jane, I am not a gentle-tempered man — you forget that: I am not long-enduring; I am not cool and dispassionate.
p. 350.9 *tempered = typical mood or way of behaving
- As she grew up, a sound English education corrected in a great measure her French defects; and when she left school, I found in her a pleasing and obliging companion: docile, good-tempered, and well-principled.
p. 519.2
- On that occasion, he again, with a full heart, acknowledged that God had tempered judgment with mercy.
p. 520.7 *tempered = made less extreme
Definitions:
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(1)
(tempered as in: bad news tempered by kindness) made less extreme
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(2)
(tempered as in: tempered steel) made stronger or more flexible by heat treatment -- often of steel or glass
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(3)
(tempered as in: short-tempered) having a typical mood or temperament -- often in reference to how easily one is angered