Find the legal definition of TEMPERING from Black's Law Dictionary, 2nd Edition. Process used to toughen a material, glass, metal, alloy that makes it more able to resist stress by heating, submitting to constant temperature or...

The temper root keeps its basic meaning—"to mix" or "to keep within limits"—in the English word temper. When you temper something, you mix it with some balancing quality or substance so as to avoid anything extreme. Thus, it's often said that a judge must temper justice with mercy.