1. A method, in a data processing system comprising a processor and a memory configured to implement a question and answer system (QA), for utilizing temporal indicators to weight semantic values, the method comprising: identifying a set of temporal characteristics of a set of initial candidate answers; for each initial candidate answer in the set of initial candidate answers: generating a distance value for each of the set of temporal characteristics of the set of initial candidate answers; determining a multiplier value with which to weight an initial confidence score associated with the initial candidate answer using the distance value; determining a sentiment value of the initial candidate answer; and determining a final weight value using the multiplier value, the sentiment value, and the initial confidence score associated with the initial candidate answer; and providing a set of temporally refined candidate answers using the determined final weight values.