Attemperate

Part of speech: verb, adjective

Pronunciation: /əˈtɛm.pə.ɹət/

Definitions

1. Displaying excessive and unrestrained characteristics in actions or emotions
2. Behaving with too much intensity or lack of control in feelings or actions
3. Exhibiting extreme or unchecked behavior that exceeds normal limits

Etymology: "Attemperate" comes from the Latin "attemperatus," the past participle of "attemperare," which combined "ad-" (to) with "temperare," meaning to mix in due proportion, to moderate, or to regulate. That Latin root also gave English "temper," "temperate," and "temperature," so the word is a close relative of ideas about balance and mixing. The mixing sense is the literal one: the Latin verb originally suggested blending liquids or elements in the right measure, and the moderating sense grew out of that idea of bringing things into proportion. English has had a parallel word, "attemper," drawn from the same Latin source, so "attemperate" is a doublet of it. The two forms entered English through the same channel but took slightly different shapes, and both have kept the sense of tempering something down to a suitable degree. Today the word appears mostly in technical and formal writing, where it describes bringing a condition, such as heat or emotion, into a more moderate state.