Embrittlement of alloy steels caused by holding within or cooling slowly through a temperature range just below the transformation range. Embrittlement is the result of the segregation at grain boundaries of impurities such as arsenic, antimony, phosphorus, and tin; it is usually manifested as an upward shift in ductile-to-brittle transition temperature. Temper embrittlement can be reversed by re tempering above the critical temperature range, then cooling rapidly.