Con*tem"per (kŏn*tĕm"pẽr),
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.