Crescendo Definition

krə-shĕndō
crescendi, crescendoed, crescendoes, crescendoing, crescendos
noun
crescendos
A gradual increase in loudness.
Webster's New World
A passage played with a gradual increase in volume or intensity.
American Heritage
A crescendo passage.
Webster's New World
Any gradual increase in force, intensity, etc.
Webster's New World
The climactic point or moment after such a progression.
American Heritage
adjective
With a gradual increase in loudness.
Webster's New World
adverb
With a crescendo.
American Heritage
verb
crescendoed, crescendoes, crescendoing
To build up to or reach a point of great intensity, force, or volume.
American Heritage
To increase gradually in loudness or intensity.
Webster's New World
Antonyms:

Other Word Forms of Crescendo

Noun

Singular:
crescendo
Plural:
crescendi, crescendoes, crescendos

Origin of Crescendo

  • Italian present participle of crescere to increase from Latin crēscere ker-2 in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Borrowing from Italian crescendo, gerund of crescere (“to grow, to increase”)

    From Wiktionary

Crescendo Sentence Examples

  • The sound began as light pecks on the window, and quickly grew to a crescendo of crashing rocks.

  • Glamour photography hit its crescendo during World War II.

  • A roar rose like in a great crescendo from the crowd.

  • Being an Italian opera, the work was imbued with great passion, each act rising to a dramatic crescendo.

  • The writer makes the reader wait for this, the relative clauses in commas (analyzed above) creating a crescendo.

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Words Starting With

CCRCRE

Words Ending With

ODONDO

Unscrambles

crescendo

Words Starting With C and Ending With O

Starts With C & Ends With OStarts With CR & Ends With OStarts With C & Ends With DO

Word Length

9 Letter Words9 Letter Words Starting With C9 Letter Words Ending With O