Question

ferguson tempered his praise with criticism of his two senior strikers.
source: the guardian
in this sentence, tempered means:
faced and withstood with courage
increased the intensity of
made more acceptable or suitable by adding something else
destroyed completely; damaged irreparably

Explanation:

In the sentence, "tempered" is used in the context of balancing praise with criticism. The phrase "tempered his praise with criticism" implies that by adding criticism (something else), the praise was made more appropriate. The first option ("faced and withstood with courage") is about courage, which is not relevant here. The second option ("increased the intensity of") is the opposite of what happens when you add criticism to praise (it would likely decrease the "intensity" of just - praise). The fourth option ("destroyed completely; damaged irreparably") is too extreme. The third option "made more acceptable or suitable by adding something else" fits the context of combining praise and criticism.

Answer:

made more acceptable or suitable by adding something else