tempérés

Tempérés is the masculine plural past participle of the French verb tempérer, used as an adjective meaning tempered or moderated. It agrees with masculine plural nouns (des esprits tempérés, des climats tempérés), while the feminine plural form is tempérées (des opinions tempérées, des goûts tempérés). The term appears in everyday language and in literary or rhetorical contexts to denote balance, moderation, or restraint.

Etymology and scope: tempérer comes from Latin temperare, meaning to mix, blend, or moderate. In French, tempéré and its inflected forms are widely used to describe things that have been softened or leveled from extremes. The usage is common across domains such as psychology, politics, aesthetics, and natural history, where moderation or tempering is relevant.

Typical uses and examples:des esprits tempérés can describe people who reason with restraint; climats tempérés refer to temperate climate zones; goûts tempérés denote moderated or nuanced tastes; choix tempérés suggests carefully balanced choices. Because gender matters in French, feminine nouns take tempérées (par exemple, opinions tempérées, goûts tempérés).

Relation to related terms: tempérer is the verb form, meaning to temper or moderate. The noun form tempérament (temperament) is related but distinct, often used in psychology or music, and is not interchangeable with tempéré/tempérés in most contexts. In meteorology and climatology, the standard term for a mild climate is climat tempéré, often pluralized as climats tempérés when discussing multiple regions.