Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Temper \Tem"per\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Tempered}; p. pr. & vb.
   n. {Tempering}.] [AS. temprian or OF. temper, F. temp['e]rer,
   and (in sense 3) temper, L. temperare, akin to tempus time.
   Cf. {Temporal}, {Distemper}, {Tamper}.]
   1. To mingle in due proportion; to prepare by combining; to
      modify, as by adding some new element; to qualify, as by
      an ingredient; hence, to soften; to mollify; to assuage;
      to soothe; to calm.

            Puritan austerity was so tempered by Dutch
            indifference, that mercy itself could not have
            dictated a milder system.             --Bancroft.

            Woman! lovely woman! nature made thee To temper man:
            we had been brutes without you.       --Otway.

            But thy fire Shall be more tempered, and thy hope
            far higher.                           --Byron.

            She [the Goddess of Justice] threw darkness and
            clouds about her, that tempered the light into a
            thousand beautiful shades and colors. --Addison.

   2. To fit together; to adjust; to accomodate.

            Thy sustenance . . . serving to the appetite of the
            eater, tempered itself to every man's liking.
                                                  --Wisdom xvi.
                                                  21.

   3. (Metal.) To bring to a proper degree of hardness; as, to
      temper iron or steel.

            The tempered metals clash, and yield a silver sound.
                                                  --Dryden.

   4. To govern; to manage. [A Latinism & Obs.]

            With which the damned ghosts he governeth, And
            furies rules, and Tartare tempereth.  --Spenser.

   5. To moisten to a proper consistency and stir thoroughly, as
      clay for making brick, loam for molding, etc.

   6. (Mus.) To adjust, as the mathematical scale to the actual
      scale, or to that in actual use.

   Syn: To soften; mollify; assuage; soothe; calm.

Tempered \Tem"pered\, a.
   Brought to a proper temper; as, tempered steel; having (such)
   a temper; -- chiefly used in composition; as, a good-tempered
   or bad-tempered man; a well-tempered sword.

Source : WordNet®

tempered
     adj 1: made hard or flexible or resilient especially by heat
            treatment; "a sword of tempered steel"; "tempered
            glass" [syn: {treated}, {hardened}, {toughened}] [ant:
             {untempered}]
     2: adjusted or attuned by adding a counterbalancing element;
        "criticism tempered with kindly sympathy" [ant: {untempered}]