minor key

noun Music.

a key or mode based on a minor scale.
a less jubilant or more restrained mood, atmosphere, or quality: The conversation shifted to a minor key with news of the defeat.

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advocate
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Origin of minor key

First recorded in 1810–20

Words nearby minor key

minor canon, minor coin, minor duodenal papilla, minor element, minor hysteria, minor key, minor league, minor mode, minor order, minor orders, minor party
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for minor key

  • And then, turning into the fourth page, she came on a passage which checked all minor-key reflections instantly.

    Angela's Business|Henry Sydnor Harrison

British Dictionary definitions for minor key

minor key

noun

music a key based on notes taken from a corresponding minor scale
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