D defs.my
Entry 1 sense Webster, 1913

Contemper

/(kŏn*tĕm"pẽr)/ · Con·tem·per · IPA /kənˈtɛmpə(ɹ)/
01 v. t. To modify or temper; to allay; to qualify; to moderate; to soften.
  1. 1.
    To modify or temper; to allay; to qualify; to moderate; to soften.[Obs.]
    “The antidotes . . . have allayed its bitterness and contempered its malignancy.” Johnson.