crescendo
[ kri-shen-doh, -sen-doh; Italian kre-shen-daw ]
/ krɪˈʃɛn doʊ, -ˈsɛn doʊ; Italian krɛˈʃɛn dɔ /
noun, plural cre·scen·dos, cre·scen·di [kri-shen-dee, -sen-dee; Italian kre-shen-dee] /krɪˈʃɛn di, -ˈsɛn di; Italian krɛˈʃɛn di/.
Music.
- a gradual, steady increase in loudness or force.
- a musical passage characterized by such an increase.
- the performance of a crescendo passage: The crescendo by the violins is too abrupt.
a steady increase in force or intensity: The rain fell in a crescendo on the rooftops.
the climactic point or moment in such an increase; peak: The authorities finally took action when public outrage reached a crescendo.
adjective, adverb
gradually increasing in force, volume, or loudness (opposed to decrescendo or diminuendo).
verb (used without object)
to grow in force or loudness.
Origin of crescendo
Words nearby crescendo
crepuscular ray,
crepuscule,
crepy,
cres.,
crescas,
crescendo,
crescendo angina,
crescendo murmur,
crescent,
crescent cell anemia,
crescent truss
Example sentences from the Web for crescendo
British Dictionary definitions for crescendo
crescendo
/ (krɪˈʃɛndəʊ) /
noun plural -dos or -di (-dɪ)
music
- a gradual increase in loudness or the musical direction or symbol indicating thisAbbreviation: cresc, (written over the music affected) ≺
- (as modifier)a crescendo passage
a gradual increase in loudness or intensity
the rising crescendo of a song
a peak of noise or intensity
the cheers reached a crescendo
verb -does, -doing or -doed
(intr)
to increase in loudness or force
adverb
with a crescendo
Word Origin for crescendo
C18: from Italian, literally: increasing, from
crescere to grow, from Latin
Cultural definitions for crescendo
crescendo
[ (kruh-shen-doh) ]
A musical direction used to indicate increasing loudness.
notes for crescendo
The term is sometimes used figuratively to indicate rising intensity in general: “As the days went on, there was a crescendo of angry letters about my speech.”
Crescendo is also sometimes misused to indicate a
peak of intensity, as in, “The angry letters about my speech hit a crescendo on Wednesday.”