CRESCENDO (crescendi)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected form: crescendi   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does crescendo mean? 

• CRESCENDO (noun)
  The noun CRESCENDO has 1 sense:

1. (music) a gradual increase in loudness

  Familiarity information: CRESCENDO used as a noun is very rare.

• CRESCENDO (adjective)
  The adjective CRESCENDO has 1 sense:

1. (music) gradually increasing in volume

  Familiarity information: CRESCENDO used as an adjective is very rare.

• CRESCENDO (verb)
  The verb CRESCENDO has 1 sense:

1. grow louder

  Familiarity information: CRESCENDO used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CRESCENDO (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(music) a gradual increase in loudness

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("crescendo" is a kind of...):

intensity; loudness; volume (the magnitude of sound (usually in a specified direction))

Domain category:

music (an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "crescendo"):

swell (a crescendo followed by a decrescendo)

Derivation:

crescendo (grow louder)

crescendo ((music) gradually increasing in volume)

• CRESCENDO (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(music) gradually increasing in volume

Similar:

increasing ((music) increasing in tempo and/or volume)

Domain category:

music (an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner)

Derivation:

crescendo ((music) a gradual increase in loudness)

• CRESCENDO (verb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Grow louder

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Context example:

The music crescendoes here

Hypernyms (to "crescendo" is one way to...):

increase (become bigger or greater in amount)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Antonym:

decrescendo (grow quieter)

Derivation:

crescendo ((music) a gradual increase in loudness)

 Context examples 

The caterwauling horns had reached a crescendo and I turned away and cut across the lawn toward home.

(The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald)