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Showing results for well-tempered. Search instead for Well+tempered+Clavier.

well-tempered

British  

adjective

  1. (of a musical scale or instrument) conforming to the system of equal temperament See temperament

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“I just discovered something—a complete world. . . . already there in the physics of well-tempered harmony.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 27, 2025

It bends the well-tempered notes of the European scale into idiosyncratic microtones and mocks any inflexible rhythm.

From New York Times • May 10, 2024

However ill-tempered, the civilized world is, for the most part, musically well-tempered.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 25, 2017

The punningly titled device is not quite a well-tempered clavier, but sort of an automotive gamelan.

From Washington Post • Jun. 2, 2016

They took to their great, well-tempered lances on that day.

From The Ancient Irish Epic Tale Táin Bó Cúalnge by Dunn, Joseph

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