- Exercising moderation and self-restraint: learned to be temperate in eating and drinking.
- Moderate in degree or quality; restrained: temperate criticism.
- Characterized by moderate temperatures, weather, or climate; neither hot nor cold.
- Biology. Of or relating to a virus that infects bacterial cells but rarely causes lysis: temperate bacteriophages.
[Middle English temperat, from Latin temperātus, from past participle of temperāre, to temper. See temper.]
temperately tem'per·ate·ly adv.temperateness tem'per·ate·ness n.





