Contemper \Con*tem"per\ (k[o^]n*t[e^]m"p[~e]r), v. t. [L. contemperare, -temperatum; con- + temperare to temper. Cf. {Contemperate}.] To modify or temper; to allay; to qualify; to moderate; to soften. [Obs.] The antidotes . . . have allayed its bitterness and contempered its malignancy. --Johnson.