1.  To part with unintentionally or unwillingly, as by accident, misfortune, negligence, penalty, forfeit, etc.; to be deprived of; as, to lose money from one's purse or pocket, or in business or gaming; to lose an arm or a leg by amputation; to lose men in battle. [1913 Webster]
"Fair Venus wept the sad disaster
Of having lost her favorite dove." [1913 Webster]

2.  To cease to have; to possess no longer; to suffer diminution of; as, to lose one's relish for anything; to lose one's health. [1913 Webster]
"If the salt hath lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted?" [1913 Webster]

3.  Not to employ; to employ ineffectually; to throw away; to waste; to squander; as, to lose a day; to lose the benefits of instruction. [1913 Webster]
"The unhappy have but hours, and these they lose." [1913 Webster]

4.  To wander from; to miss, so as not to be able to and; to go astray from; as, to lose one's way. [1913 Webster]
"He hath lost his fellows." [1913 Webster]

5.  To ruin; to destroy; as destroy; as, the ship was lost on the ledge. [1913 Webster]
"The woman that deliberates is lost." [1913 Webster]

6.  To be deprived of the view of; to cease to see or know the whereabouts of; as, he lost his companion in the crowd. [1913 Webster]
"Like following life thro' creatures you dissect,
You lose it in the moment you detect." [1913 Webster]

7.  To fail to obtain or enjoy; to fail to gain or win; hence, to fail to catch with the mind or senses; to miss; as, I lost a part of what he said. [1913 Webster]
"He shall in no wise lose his reward." [1913 Webster]
"I fought the battle bravely which I lost,
And lost it but to Macedonians." [1913 Webster]

8.  To cause to part with; to deprive of. [1913 Webster]
"How should you go about to lose him a wife he loves with so much passion?" [1913 Webster]

9.  To prevent from gaining or obtaining. [1913 Webster]
"O false heart! thou hadst almost betrayed me to eternal flames, and lost me this glory." [1913 Webster]
"In the excitement of such a discovery, many scholars lost their heads."

   To suffer loss, disadvantage, or defeat; to be worse off, esp. as the result of any kind of contest. [1913 Webster]
"We 'll . . . hear poor rogues
Talk of court news; and we'll talk with them too,
Who loses and who wins; who's in, who's out." [1913 Webster]

lose, v. (past and past part. lost)
1 tr. be deprived of or cease to have, esp. by negligence or misadventure.
2 tr. a be deprived of (a person, esp. a close relative) by death. b suffer the loss of (a baby) in childbirth.
3 tr. become unable to find; fail to keep in sight or follow or mentally grasp (lose one's way).
4 tr. let or have pass from one's control or reach (lose one's chance; lose one's bearings).
5 tr. be defeated in (a game, race, lawsuit, battle, etc.).
6 tr. evade; get rid of (lost our pursuers).
7 tr. fail to obtain, catch, or perceive (lose a train; lose a word).
8 tr. forfeit (a stake, deposit, right to a thing, etc.).
9 tr. spend (time, efforts, etc.) to no purpose (lost no time in raising the alarm).
10 intr. a suffer loss or detriment; incur a disadvantage. b be worse off, esp. financially.
11 tr. cause (a person) the loss of (will lose you your job).
12 intr. & tr. (of a timepiece) become slow; become slow by (a specified amount of time).
13 tr. (in passive) disappear, perish; be dead (was lost in the war; is a lost art).

Idiom:
be lost (or lose oneself) in be engrossed in. be lost on be wasted on, or not noticed or appreciated by. be lost to be no longer affected by or accessible to (is lost to pity; is lost to the world). be lost without have great difficulty if deprived of (am lost without my diary). get lost sl. (usu. in imper.) go away. lose one's balance
1 fail to remain stable; fall.
2 fail to retain one's composure. lose one's cool colloq. lose one's composure. lose face be humiliated; lose one's credibility. lose ground see GROUND(1). lose one's head see HEAD. lose heart be discouraged. lose one's heart see HEART. lose one's nerve become timid or irresolute. lose out (often foll. by on) colloq. be unsuccessful; not get a fair chance or advantage (in). lose one's temper become angry. lose time allow time to pass with something unachieved etc. lose touch see TOUCH. lose track of see TRACK(1). lose the (or one's) way become lost; fail to reach one's destination. losing battle a contest or effort in which failure seems certain.
lost cause
1 an enterprise etc. with no chance of success.
2 a person one can no longer hope to influence.
lost generation
1 a generation with many of its men killed in war, esp. that of 1914-18.
2 an emotionally and culturally unstable generation coming to maturity, esp. in 1915-25.

Derivative:
losable adj.

Etymology:
OE losian perish, destroy f. los loss

VB  fail, be unsuccessful, not succeed, make vain efforts, do in vain, labor in vain, toil in vain, flunk, lose one's labor, take nothing by one's motion, bring to naught, make nothing of, wash a blackamoor white, roll the stones of Sisyphus, do by halves, lose ground, fall short of, miss, miss one's aim, miss the mark, miss one's footing, miss stays, slip, trip, stumble, make a slip, blunder, make a mess of, make a botch of, bitch it, miscarry, abort, go up like a rocket and come down like the stick, come down in flames, get shot down, reckon without one's host, get the wrong pig by the tail, get the wrong sow by the ear, limp, halt, hobble, titubate, fall, tumble, lose one's balance, fall to the ground, fall between two stools, flounder, falter, stick in the mud, run aground, split upon a rock, beat one's head against a stone wall, run one's head against a stone wall, knock one's head against a stone wall, dash one's head against a stone wall, break one's back, break down, sink, drown, founder, have the ground cut from under one, get into trouble, get into a mess, get into a scrape, come to grief, go to the wall, go to the dogs, go to pot, lick the dust, bite the dust, be defeated, have the worst of it, lose the day, come off second best, lose, fall a prey to, succumb, not have a leg to stand on, come to nothing, end in smoke, flat out, fall to the ground, fall through, fall dead, fall stillborn, fall flat, slip through one's fingers, hang fire, miss fire, flash in the pan, collapse, topple down, go to wrack and ruin, go amiss, go wrong, go cross, go hard with, go on a wrong tack, go on ill, come off ill, turn out ill, work ill, take a wrong term, take an ugly term, take an ugly turn, take a turn for the worse, be all over with, be all up with, explode, dash one's hopes, defeat the purpose, sow the wind and reap the whirlwind, jump out of the frying pan into the fire, go from the frying pan into the fire.

VB  lose, incur a loss, experience a loss, meet with a loss, miss, mislay, let slip, allow to slip through the fingers, be without, forfeit, get rid of, waste, be lost, lapse.

VB  forget, be forgetful, fall into oblivion, sink into oblivion, have a short memory, have no head, forget one's own name, have on the tip of one's tongue, come in one ear and go out the other, slip memory, escape memory, fade from memory, die away from the memory, lose, lose sight of, fail to recall, not be able to recall, unlearn, efface, discharge from the memory, consign to oblivion, consign to the tomb of the Capulets, think no more of, cast behind one's back, wean one's thoughts from, let bygones be bygones.

VB  be unintelligible, require explanation, have a doubtful meaning, pass comprehension, render unintelligible, conceal, darken, confuse, perplex, not understand, lose, lose the clue, miss, not know what to make of, be able to make nothing of, give it up, not be able to account for, not be able to make either head or tail of, be at sea, wonder, see through a glass darkly, not understand one another, play at cross purposes.

lose ground, lose heart, lose it, lose one's temper, lose sight of, lose weight

   Once. Chaucer. [1913 Webster]

1.  temper(n = noun.feeling) irritation, pique - a sudden outburst of anger; "his temper sparked like damp firewood"
is a kind of annoyance, chafe, vexation
Derived form verb temper₅

2.  temper(n = noun.feeling) humor, humour, mood - a characteristic (habitual or relatively temporary) state of feeling; "whether he praised or cursed me depended on his temper at the time"; "he was in a bad humor"
is a kind of feeling
has particulars: peeve, sulk, sulkiness, amiability, good humor, good humour, good temper, distemper, ill humor, ill humour

3.  temper(n = noun.attribute) biliousness, irritability, peevishness, pettishness, snappishness, surliness - a disposition to exhibit uncontrolled anger; "his temper was well known to all his employees"
is a kind of ill nature
has particulars: querulousness
Derived form verb temper₅

4.  temper(n = noun.attribute) toughness - the elasticity and hardness of a metal object; its ability to absorb considerable energy before cracking;
is a kind of elasticity, snap
Derived forms verb temper₂, verb temper₁

1.  temper(v = verb.change) anneal, normalize - bring to a desired consistency, texture, or hardness by a process of gradually heating and cooling; "temper glass"
is one way to harden, indurate
Derived forms noun temper₄, noun temperance₃, noun tempering₁
Sample sentences: Somebody ----s something

2.  temper(v = verb.change) harden - harden by reheating and cooling in oil; "temper steel"
is one way to modify
Derived forms noun temper₄, noun temperance₃, noun tempering₁
Sample sentences: Somebody ----s something

3.  temper(v = verb.change) - adjust the pitch (of pianos);
is one way to adjust, correct, set
Sample sentences: Somebody ----s something

4.  temper(v = verb.change) mollify, season - make more temperate, acceptable, or suitable by adding something else; moderate; "she tempered her criticism"
is one way to weaken
Sample sentences: Somebody ----s something; Something ----s something

5.  temper(v = verb.change) chasten, moderate - restrain;
is one way to alter, change, modify
Derived forms noun temper₃, noun temper₁
Sample sentences: Somebody ----s somebody

1.  To mingle in due proportion; to prepare by combining; to modify, as by adding some new element; to qualify, as by an ingredient; hence, to soften; to mollify; to assuage; to soothe; to calm. [1913 Webster]
"Puritan austerity was so tempered by Dutch indifference, that mercy itself could not have dictated a milder system." [1913 Webster]
"Woman! lovely woman! nature made thee
To temper man: we had been brutes without you." [1913 Webster]
"But thy fire
Shall be more tempered, and thy hope far higher." [1913 Webster]
"She [the Goddess of Justice] threw darkness and clouds about her, that tempered the light into a thousand beautiful shades and colors." [1913 Webster]

2.  To fit together; to adjust; to accomodate. [1913 Webster]
"Thy sustenance . . . serving to the appetite of the eater, tempered itself to every man's liking." [1913 Webster]

3.  To bring to a proper degree of hardness; as, to temper iron or steel. [1913 Webster]
"The tempered metals clash, and yield a silver sound." [1913 Webster]

4.  To govern; to manage. [1913 Webster]
"With which the damned ghosts he governeth,
And furies rules, and Tartare tempereth." [1913 Webster]

5.  To moisten to a proper consistency and stir thoroughly, as clay for making brick, loam for molding, etc. [1913 Webster]

6.  To adjust, as the mathematical scale to the actual scale, or to that in actual use. [1913 Webster]

1.  The state of any compound substance which results from the mixture of various ingredients; due mixture of different qualities; just combination; as, the temper of mortar. [1913 Webster]

2.  Constitution of body; temperament; in old writers, the mixture or relative proportion of the four humors, blood, choler, phlegm, and melancholy. [1913 Webster]
"The exquisiteness of his [Christ's] bodily temper increased the exquisiteness of his torment." [1913 Webster]

3.  Disposition of mind; the constitution of the mind, particularly with regard to the passions and affections; as, a calm temper; a hasty temper; a fretful temper. [1913 Webster]
"Remember with what mild
And gracious temper he both heared and judged." [1913 Webster]
"The consequents of a certain ethical temper." [1913 Webster]

4.  Calmness of mind; moderation; equanimity; composure; as, to keep one's temper. [1913 Webster]
"To fall with dignity, with temper rise." [1913 Webster]
"Restore yourselves to your tempers, fathers." [1913 Webster]

5.  Heat of mind or passion; irritation; proneness to anger; -- in a reproachful sense. [1913 Webster]

6.  The state of a metal or other substance, especially as to its hardness, produced by some process of heating or cooling; as, the temper of iron or steel. [1913 Webster]

7.  Middle state or course; mean; medium. [1913 Webster]
"The perfect lawgiver is a just temper between the mere man of theory, who can see nothing but general principles, and the mere man of business, who can see nothing but particular circumstances." [1913 Webster]

8.  Milk of lime, or other substance, employed in the process formerly used to clarify sugar. [1913 Webster]

1.  To accord; to agree; to act and think in conformity. Shak. [1913 Webster]

2.  To have or get a proper or desired state or quality; to grow soft and pliable. [1913 Webster]
"I have him already tempering between my finger and my thumb, and shortly will I seal with him." [1913 Webster]

temper, n. & v.
--n.
1 habitual or temporary disposition of mind esp. as regards composure (a person of a placid temper).
2 irritation or anger (in a fit of temper).
3 a tendency to have fits of anger (have a temper).
4 composure or calmness (keep one's temper; lose one's temper).
5 the condition of metal as regards hardness and elasticity.
--v.tr.
1 bring (metal or clay) to a proper hardness or consistency.
2 (foll. by with) moderate or mitigate (temper justice with mercy).
3 tune or modulate (a piano etc.) so as to distance intervals correctly.

Idiom:
in a bad temper angry, peevish. in a good temper in an amiable mood. out of temper angry, peevish. show temper be petulant.

Derivative:
temperable adj. temperative adj. tempered adj. temperedly adv. temperer n.

Etymology:
OE temprian (v.) f. L temperare mingle: infl. by OF temprer, tremper

N  intrinsicality, inbeing, inherence, inhesion, subjectiveness, ego, egohood, essence, noumenon, essentialness, essential part, quintessence, incarnation, quiddity, gist, pith, marrow, core, sap, lifeblood, backbone, heart, soul, important part, principle, nature, constitution, character, type, quality, crasis, diathesis, habit, temper, temperament, spirit, humor, grain, disposition, endowment, capacity, capability, moods, declensions, features, aspects, peculiarities, idiosyncrasy, oddity, idiocrasy, diagnostics, derived from within, subjective, intrinsic, intrinsical, fundamental, normal, implanted, inherent, essential, natural, innate, inborn, inbred, ingrained, inwrought, coeval with birth, genetous, haematobious, syngenic, radical, incarnate, thoroughbred, hereditary, inherited, immanent, congenital, congenite, connate, running in the blood, ingenerate, ingenite, indigenous, in the grain, bred in the bone, instinctive, inward, internal, to the manner born, virtual, characteristic, invariable, incurable, incorrigible, ineradicable, fixed, intrinsically, at bottom, in the main, in effect, practically, virtually, substantially, au fond, fairly, character is higher than intellect, come give us a taste of your quality, magnos homines virtute metimur non fortuna, non numero haec judicantur sed pondere, vital spark of heavenly flame.

N  state, condition, category, estate, lot, ease, trim, mood, pickle, plight, temper, aspect, dilemma, pass, predicament, constitution, habitude, diathesis, frame, fabric, stamp, set, fit, mold, mould, mode, modality, schesis, form, tone, tenor, turn, trim, guise, fashion, light, complexion, style, character, conditional, modal, formal, structural, organic, conditionally, as the matter stands, as things are, such being the case.

VB  prepare, get ready, make ready, make preparations, settle preliminaries, get up, sound the note of preparation, set in order, put in order, forecast, prepare the ground, plow the ground, dress the ground, till the soil, cultivate the soil, predispose, sow the seed, lay a train, dig a mine, lay the groundwork, fix the groundwork, lay the basis, fix the basis, lay the foundations, fix the foundations, dig the foundations, erect the scaffolding, lay the first stone, roughhew, cut out work, block out, hammer out, lick into shape, elaborate, mature, ripen, mellow, season, bring to maturity, nurture, hatch, cook, brew, temper, anneal, smelt, barbecue, infumate, maturate, equip, arm, man, fit-out, fit up, furnish, rig, dress, garnish, betrim, accouter, array, fettle, fledge, dress up, furbish up, brush up, vamp up, refurbish, sharpen one's tools, trim one's foils, set, prime, attune, whet the knife, whet the sword, wind up, screw up, adjust, put in trim, put in train, put in gear, put in working order, put in tune, put in a groove for, put in harness, pack, train, inure, breed, prepare for, rehearse, make provision for, take steps, take measures, take precautions, provide, provide against, beat up for recruits, open the door to, set one's house in order, make all snug, clear the decks, clear for action, close one's ranks, shuffle the cards, prepare oneself, serve an apprenticeship, lay oneself out for, get into harness, gird up one's loins, buckle on one's armor, reculer pour mieux sauter, prime and load, shoulder arms, get the steam up, put the horses to, guard against, make sure against, forearm, make sure, prepare for the evil day, have a rod in pickle, provide against a rainy day, feather one's nest, lay in provisions, make investments, keep on foot, be prepared, be ready, hold oneself in readiness, keep one's powder dry, lie in wait for, anticipate, principiis obstare, veniente occurrere morbo.

N  affections, affect, character, qualities, disposition, nature, spirit, tone, temper, temperament, diathesis, idiosyncrasy, cast of mind, cast of soul, habit of mind, habit of soul, frame of mind, frame of soul, predilection, turn, natural turn of mind, bent, bias, predisposition, proneness, proclivity, propensity, propenseness, propension, propendency, vein, humor, mood, grain, mettle, sympathy, soul, heart, breast, bosom, inner man, heart's core, heart's strings, heart's blood, heart of hearts, bottom of one's heart, penetralia mentis, secret and inmost recesses of the heart, cockles of one's heart, inmost heart, inmost soul, backbone, passion, pervading spirit, ruling passion, master passion, furore, fullness of the heart, heyday of the blood, flesh and blood, flow of soul, energy, fervor, fire, force, affected, characterized, formed, molded, cast, attempered, tempered, framed, predisposed, prone, inclined, having a bias, tinctured with, imbued with, penetrated with, eaten up with, inborn, inbred, ingrained, deep-rooted, ineffaceable, inveterate, pathoscopic, congenital, dyed in the wool, implanted by nature, inherent, in the grain, affective, in one's heart, at heart, heart and soul, affection is a coal that must be cool'd else suffe.

VB  be moderate, keep within bounds, keep within compass, sober down, settle down, keep the peace, remit, relent, take in sail, moderate, soften, mitigate, temper, accoy, attemper, contemper, mollify, lenify, dulcify, dull, take off the edge, blunt, obtund, sheathe, subdue, chasten, sober down, tone down, smooth down, weaken, lessen, check palliate, tranquilize, pacify, assuage, appease, swag, lull, soothe, compose, still, calm, calm down, cool, quiet, hush, quell, sober, pacify, tame, damp, lay, allay, rebate, slacken, smooth, alleviate, rock to sleep, deaden, smooth, throw cold water on, throw a wet blanket over, turn off, slake, curb, tame, smooth over, pour oil on the waves, pour oil on the troubled waters, pour balm into, mattre de l'eau dans son vin, go out like a lamb, roar you as gently as any sucking dove.

N  irascibility, irascibleness, temper, crossness, susceptibility, procacity, petulance, irritability, tartness, acerbity, protervity, pugnacity, excitability, bad temper, fiery temper, crooked temper, irritable, temper, genus irritabile, hot blood, ill humor, asperity, churlishness, huff, a word and a blow, Sir Fretful Plagiary, brabbler, Tartar, shrew, vixen, virago, termagant, dragon, scold, Xantippe, porcupine, spitfire, fire eater, fury, irascible, bad-tempered, ill-tempered, irritable, susceptible, excitable, thin-skinned, fretful, fidgety, on the fret, hasty, overhasty, quick, warm, hot, testy, touchy, techy, tetchy, like touchwood, like tinder, huffy, pettish, petulant, waspish, snappish, peppery, fiery, passionate, choleric, shrewish, sudden and quick in quarrel, querulous, captious, moodish, quarrelsome, contentious, disputatious, pugnacious, cantankerous, exceptious, restiff, churlish, cross, cross as crabs, cross as two sticks, cross as a cat, cross as a dog, cross as the tongs, fractious, peevish, acari=atre, in a bad temper, sulky, angry, resentful, resentive, vindictive, Int, pish!, a vieux comptes nouvelles disputes, quamvis tegatur proditur vultu furor, vino tortus et ira, irascibility, irascibleness, temper, crossness, susceptibility, procacity, petulance, irritability, tartness, acerbity, protervity, pugnacity, excitability, bad temper, fiery temper, crooked temper, irritable, temper, genus irritabile, hot blood, ill humor, asperity, churlishness, huff, a word and a blow, Sir Fretful Plagiary, brabbler, Tartar, shrew, vixen, virago, termagant, dragon, scold, Xantippe, porcupine, spitfire, fire eater, fury, irascible, bad-tempered, ill-tempered, irritable, susceptible, excitable, thin-skinned, fretful, fidgety, on the fret, hasty, overhasty, quick, warm, hot, testy, touchy, techy, tetchy, like touchwood, like tinder, huffy, pettish, petulant, waspish, snappish, peppery, fiery, passionate, choleric, shrewish, sudden and quick in quarrel, querulous, captious, moodish, quarrelsome, contentious, disputatious, pugnacious, cantankerous, exceptious, restiff, churlish, cross, cross as crabs, cross as two sticks, cross as a cat, cross as a dog, cross as the tongs, fractious, peevish, acari=atre, in a bad temper, sulky, angry, resentful, resentive, vindictive, Int, pish!, a vieux comptes nouvelles disputes, quamvis tegatur proditur vultu furor, vino tortus et ira.

N  hardness, rigidity, renitence, renitency, inflexibility, temper, callosity, durity, induration, petrifaction, lapidification, lapidescence, vitrification, ossification, crystallization, stone, pebble, flint, marble, rock, fossil, crag, crystal, quartz, granite, adamant, bone, cartilage, hardware, heart of oak, block, board, deal board, iron, steel, cast iron, decarbonized iron, wrought iron, nail, brick, concrete, cement, hard, rigid, stubborn, stiff, firm, starch, starched, stark, unbending, unlimber, unyielding, inflexible, tense, indurate, indurated, gritty, proof, adamant, adamantine, adamantean, concrete, stony, granitic, calculous, lithic, vitreous, horny, corneous, bony, osseous, ossific, cartilaginous, hard as a rock, stiff as buckram, stiff as a poker, stiff as starch, stiff as as board.

VB  render hard, harden, stiffen, indurate, petrify, temper, ossify, vitrify, accrust.

VB  render soft, soften, mollify, mellow, relax, temper, mash, knead, squash, bend, yield, relent, relax, give, plasticize'.

VB  qualify, limit, modify, leaven, give a color to, introduce new conditions, narrow, temper, waffle, quibble, hem and haw (be uncertain), equivocate (sophistry), depend, depend on, be contingent on (effect), allow for, make allowance for, admit exceptions, take into account, modulate, moderate, temper, season, leaven, take exception, qualify, limit, modify, leaven, give a color to, introduce new conditions, narrow, temper, waffle, quibble, hem and haw (be uncertain), equivocate (sophistry), depend, depend on, be contingent on (effect), allow for, make allowance for, admit exceptions, take into account, modulate, moderate, temper, season, leaven, take exception.

bad temper, good temper, ill temper, lose one's temper, quick temper, short temper, temper screw