n. The portico, or narthex in an ancient temple or church. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Attempered p. pr. & vb. n. Attempering. ] [ OF. atemprer, fr. L. attemperare; ad + temperare to soften, temper. See Temper, and cf. Attemperate. ] 1. To reduce, modify, or moderate, by mixture; to temper; to regulate, as temperature. [ 1913 Webster ]

If sweet with bitter . . . were not attempered still. Trench. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To soften, mollify, or moderate; to soothe; to temper; as, to attemper rigid justice with clemency. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To mix in just proportion; to regulate; as, a mind well attempered with kindness and justice. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To accommodate; to make suitable; to adapt. [ 1913 Webster ]

Arts . . . attempered to the lyre. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ This word is now not much used, the verb temper taking its place. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OF. attemprement. ] A tempering, or mixing in due proportion. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. OF. atemprance. ] Temperance; attemperament. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. attemperatus, p. p. of attemperare. See Attemper. ] Tempered; proportioned; properly adapted. [ 1913 Webster ]

Hope must be . . . attemperate to the promise. Hammond. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To attemper. [ Archaic ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The act of attempering or regulating. [ Archaic ] Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. Temperately. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Attemperament. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Attempted; p. pr. & vb. n. Attempting. ] [ OF. atenter, also spelt atempter, F. attenter, fr. L. attentare to attempt; ad + tentare, temptare, to touch, try, v. intens. of tendere to stretch. See Tempt, and cf. Attend. ] 1. To make trial or experiment of; to try; to endeavor to do or perform (some action); to assay; as, to attempt to sing; to attempt a bold flight. [ 1913 Webster ]

Something attempted, something done,
Has earned a night's repose. Longfellow. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To try to move, by entreaty, by afflictions, or by temptations; to tempt. [ Obs. or Archaic ] [ 1913 Webster ]

It made the laughter of an afternoon
That Vivien should attempt the blameless king. Thackeray. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To try to win, subdue, or overcome; as, one who attempts the virtue of a woman. [ 1913 Webster ]

Dear sir, of force I must attempt you further:
Take some remembrance of us, as a tribute. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To attack; to make an effort or attack upon; to try to take by force; as, to attempt the enemy's camp. [ 1913 Webster ]

Without attempting his adversary's life. Motley. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- See Try. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To make an attempt; -- with upon. [ Obs. ] Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A essay, trial, or endeavor; an undertaking; an attack, or an effort to gain a point; esp. an unsuccessful, as contrasted with a successful, effort. [ 1913 Webster ]

By his blindness maimed for high attempts. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Attempt to commit a crime (Law), such an intentional preparatory act as will apparently result, if not extrinsically hindered, in a crime which it was designed to effect. Wharton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Attempt, Endeavor, Effort, Exertion, Trial. These words agree in the idea of calling forth our powers into action. Trial is the generic term; it denotes a putting forth of one's powers with a view to determine what they can accomplish; as, to make trial of one's strength. An attempt is always directed to some definite and specific object; as, “The attempt, and not the deed, confounds us.” Shak. An endeavor is a continued attempt; as, “His high endeavor and his glad success.” Cowper. Effort is a specific putting forth of strength in order to carry out an attempt. Exertion is the putting forth or active exercise of any faculty or power. “It admits of all degrees of effort and even natural action without effort.” C. J. Smith. See Try. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Capable of being attempted, tried, or attacked. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who attempts; one who essays anything. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An assailant; also, a temper. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Disposed to attempt; adventurous. [ Obs. ] Daniel. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ L. contemperare, -temperatum; con- + temperare to temper. Cf. Contemperate. ] To modify or temper; to allay; to qualify; to moderate; to soften. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The antidotes . . . have allayed its bitterness and contempered its malignancy. Johnson. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ See Contemper. ] To temper; to moderate. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Moisten and contemperate the air. Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The act of tempering or moderating. [ Obs. ] Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Proportionate mixture or combination. “Contemperation of light and shade.” Boyle. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The condition of being tempered; proportionate mixture; temperature. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The different contemperature of the elements. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Contemplation. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. contemplans, p. pr. ] Given to contemplation; meditative. [ R. ] Coleridge. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Contemplated p. pr. & vb. n. Contemplating. ] [ L. contemplatus, p. p. of contemplari to contemplate; con- + templum a space for observation marked out by the augur. See Temple. ] 1. To look at on all sides or in all its bearings; to view or consider with continued attention; to regard with deliberate care; to meditate on; to study. [ 1913 Webster ]

To love, at least contemplate and admire,
What I see excellent.
Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

We thus dilate
Our spirits to the size of that they contemplate.
Byron. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To consider or have in view, as contingent or probable; to look forward to; to purpose; to intend. [ 1913 Webster ]

There remain some particulars to complete the information contemplated by those resolutions. A. Hamilton. [ 1913 Webster ]

If a treaty contains any stipulations which contemplate a state of future war. Kent.

Syn. -- To view; behold; study; ponder; muse; meditate on; reflect on; consider; intend; design; plan; propose; purpose. See Meditate. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To consider or think studiously; to ponder; to reflect; to muse; to meditate. [ 1913 Webster ]

So many hours must I contemplate. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. contemplation, L. contemplatio. ] 1. The act of the mind in considering with attention; continued attention of the mind to a particular subject; meditation; musing; study. [ 1913 Webster ]

In contemplation of created things,
By steps we may ascend to God. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Contemplation is keeping the idea which is brought into the mind for some time actually in view. Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Holy meditation. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

To live in prayer and contemplation. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The act of looking forward to an event as about to happen; expectation; the act of intending or purposing. [ 1913 Webster ]

In contemplation of returning at an early date, he left. Reid. [ 1913 Webster ]

To have in contemplation, to inted or purpose, or to have under consideration. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A contemplator. [ R. ] I. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (R. C. Ch.) A religious or either sex devoted to prayer and meditation, rather than to active works of charity. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ F. contemplatif, L. contemplativus. ] 1. Pertaining to contemplation; addicted to, or employed in, contemplation; meditative. [ 1913 Webster ]

Fixed and contemplative their looks. Denham. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Having the power of contemplation; as, contemplative faculties. Ray. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. With contemplation; in a contemplative manner. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state of being contemplative; thoughtfulness. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. ] One who contemplates. Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state of being contemporaneous. [ 1913 Webster ]

The lines of contemporaneity in the oolitic system. J. Philips. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. contemporaneus; con- + tempus time. See Temporal, and cf. Contemporaneous. ] Living, existing, or occurring at the same time; contemporary. [ 1913 Webster ]

The great age of Jewish philosophy, that of Aben Esra, Maimonides, and Kimchi, had been contemporaneous with the later Spanish school of Arabic philosophy. Milman

-- Con*tem`po*ra"ne*ous*ness, n. [1913 Webster]

adv. At the same time with some other event. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. all the people living at the same time or of approximately the same age.
Syn. -- coevals, generation. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. Existence at the same time; contemporaneousness. Howell. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Pref. con- + L. temporarius of belonging to time, tempus time. See Temporal, and cf. Contemporaneous. ] 1. Living, occuring, or existing, at the same time; done in, or belonging to, the same times; contemporaneous. [ 1913 Webster ]

This king [ Henry VIII. ] was contemporary with the greatest monarchs of Europe. Strype. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Of the same age; coeval. [ 1913 Webster ]

A grove born with himself he sees,
And loves his old contemporary trees. Cowley. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Contemporaries 1. One who lives at the same time with another; as, Petrarch and Chaucer were contemporaries. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. a person of nearly the same age as another.
Syn. -- coeval. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

v. i. to happen at the same time.
Syn. -- co-occur. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

v. t. to arrange or represent events so that they co-occur.
Syn. -- synchronize. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ L. contemptus, fr. contemnere: cf. OF. contempt. See Contemn. ] 1. The act of contemning or despising; the feeling with which one regards that which is esteemed mean, vile, or worthless; disdain; scorn. [ 1913 Webster ]

Criminal contempt of public feeling. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

Nothing, says Longinus, can be great, the contempt of which is great. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The state of being despised; disgrace; shame. [ 1913 Webster ]

Contempt and begarry hangs upon thy back. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. An act or expression denoting contempt. [ 1913 Webster ]

Little insults and contempts. Spectator. [ 1913 Webster ]

The contempt and anger of his lip. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Law) Disobedience of the rules, orders, or process of a court of justice, or of rules or orders of a legislative body; disorderly, contemptuous, or insolent language or behavior in presence of a court, tending to disturb its proceedings, or impair the respect due to its authority. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Contempt is in some jurisdictions extended so as to include publications reflecting injuriously on a court of justice, or commenting unfairly on pending proceedings; in other jurisdictions the courts are prohibited by statute or by the constitution from thus exercising this process.

Syn. -- Disdain; scorn; derision; mockery; contumely; neglect; disregard; slight. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality of being contemptible; contemptibleness. Speed. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Worthy of contempt; deserving of scorn or disdain; mean; vile; despicable. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

The arguments of tyranny are ascontemptible as its force is dreadful. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Despised; scorned; neglected; abject. Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Insolent; scornful; contemptuous. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

If she should make tender of her love, 't is very possible he 'll scorn it; for the man . . . hath a contemptible spirit. Shak.

Syn. -- Despicable; abject; vile; mean; base; paltry; worthless; sorry; pitiful; scurrile. See Contemptuous. -- Contemptible, Despicable, Pitiful, Paltry. Despicable is stronger than contemptible, as despise is stronger than contemn. It implies keen disapprobation, with a mixture of anger. A man is despicable chiefly for low actions which mark his life, such as servility, baseness, or mean adulation. A man is contemptible for mean qualities which distinguish his character, especially those which show him to be weak, foolish, or worthless. Treachery is despicable, egotism is contemptible. Pitiful and paltry are applied to cases which are beneath anger, and are simply contemptible in a high degree. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state or quality of being contemptible, or of being despised. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a contemptible manner. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Manifesting or expressing contempt or disdain; scornful; haughty; insolent; disdainful. [ 1913 Webster ]

A proud, contemptuous behavior. Hammond. [ 1913 Webster ]

Savage invective and contemptuous sarcasm. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

Rome . . . entertained the most contemptuous opinion of the Jews. Atterbury.

Syn. -- Scornful; insolent; haughty; disdainful; supercilious; insulting; contumelious. -- Contemptuous, Contemptible. These words, from their similarity of sound, are sometimes erroneously interchanged, as when a person speaks of having “a very contemptible opinion of another.” Contemptible is applied to that which is the object of contempt; as, contemptible conduct; acontemptible fellow. Contemptuous is applied to that which indicates contempt; as, a contemptuous look; a contemptuous remark; contemptuous treatment. A person, or whatever is personal, as an action, an expression, a feeling, an opinion, may be either contemptuous or contemptible; a thing may be contemptible, but can not be contemptuous. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a contemptuous manner; with scorn or disdain; despitefully. [ 1913 Webster ]

The apostles and most eminent Christians were poor, and used contemptuously. Jer. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Disposition to or manifestion of contempt; insolence; haughtiness. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ F., fr. contre (L. conta) + temps time, fr. L. tempus. ] An unexpected and untoward accident; something inopportune or embarrassing; a hitch. [ 1913 Webster ]

In this unhappy contretemps. De Quincey. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ See Contemporaneous. ] Living or being at the same time; contemporaneous. -- Co*tem`po*ra"ne*ous*ly, adv. -- Co*tem`po*ra"ne*ous*ness, n. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Living or being at the same time; contemporary. [ 1913 Webster ]