high-keyed
Americanadjective
adjective
-
having a high pitch; shrill
-
highly strung
-
bright in colour
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.
Though I find his high-keyed color synthetic and cloying, a cruciform room frames Parrish’s work with the solemnity of a chapel.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
The large sculptures depart from Carter’s prior work by draining rainbow color, usually high-keyed, from the mix.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 14, 2018
Carles’s “exuberant palette of high-keyed, unnatural hues” was in line with some of the paintings in the fabled Manhattan exhibition that revolutionized American art 100 years ago.
From New York Times ● Dec. 27, 2013
Those high-keyed colors bring out similar hues in the model’s hair and the light reflecting off her skin, reinforcing the unity of the picture, the intimacy of the scene.
From Washington Post
Aibileen shakes her head, breathes out a high-keyed “Huhhhhm,” takes a sip of her coffee.
From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
