What does temperate mean?
Word: Temperate
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Of weather or a climate: never very hot or very cold. Of a person: calm and self-controlled, never overdoing things.
Synonyms: moderate, calm
Antonyms: extreme, harsh
Word origin: From Latin temperatus, past participle of temperare, to mix in the right amounts.
How do you spell temperate?
Syllables: tem - per - ate
Tricky part: In quick speech the er in the middle almost disappears, so students write temprate.
Watch out for: temprate, tempirate
Memory tip: Find temper inside it: a temperate climate never loses its temper.
Temperate in a sentence
Example 1: Ooty's temperate climate drew the British to build summer homes there.
Example 2: Apples grow best in temperate regions such as Kent and Tasmania.
Example 3: Grandpa is temperate in his habits: one cup of tea, one walk, early to bed.
Fun Fact
Temperate and temperature come from the same Latin verb, which first meant mixing things in the right measure.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word temperate as used in the sentence:
Visitors from the hot plains love the temperate summers of Shillong.
a) scorching
b) severe
c) sultry
d) mild
Show answer
d) mild. Temperate weather is mild; severe, sultry and scorching describe the heat those visitors are escaping.
Spell-o-Spell
Three of these words are spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of the misspelt word:
1. temperate 2. tropical 3. humid 4. arrid
a) with neither burning summers nor freezing winters
b) very dry, with little or no rain
c) warm and damp, with a lot of water in the air
d) belonging to the hot regions near the equator
Show answer
b) very dry, with little or no rain. Arid takes a single r; the other three words are spelt correctly.
Mingle-Mangle
The sentence contains a jumbled word. Choose the word it hides:
New Zealand has a ptaemeert climate, so its sheep can graze outdoors all year.
a) penetrate
b) temperate
c) temperance
d) template
Show answer
b) temperate. Temperance and penetrate both carry an n, which the jumble lacks, and template has an l, which it does not have either.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
temperatte
a) a
b) t
c) r
d) e
Show answer
b) t. Only one t sits in the ending, the same -ate as in separate.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A temperate person is someone who ____.
a) loses their temper often
b) eats far more than needed
c) works at top speed all day
d) keeps to sensible limits
Show answer
d) keeps to sensible limits
2. The temperate zones of the Earth lie ____.
a) right around the North and South Poles
b) only in a narrow belt along the equator
c) between the tropics and the polar circles
d) inside the deepest valleys of the mountains
Show answer
c) between the tropics and the polar circles
