temperament

3 definitions • 6 examples

the part of your character that affects your moods and the way you behave:

a fiery temperament

a way of tuning (= changing slightly) musical instruments, especially keyboards, to affect the way notes sound in relation to one another :

Cavallo's 18th century work on musical temperaments is a key text.

Bach in fact used a different temperament, which slightly favoured some keys over others.

equal temperament Modern pianos are tuned to equal temperament.

the emotional character or state of mind of people or animals, as shown in their behavior:

[ C ] Their temperaments are very different.

[ U ] Trudy has the nicest temperament of all our dogs.