rallentando

[ rah-luhn-tahn-doh; Italian rahl-len-tahn-daw ]

adjective
  1. slackening; becoming slower (used as a musical direction).

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Origin of rallentando

1
1805–15; <Italian, gerund of rallentare to slow down; see lento

Words Nearby rallentando

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How to use rallentando in a sentence

  • Teach yourself to make a rallentando evenly by watching the drops of water cease as you turn off a tap.

    Theodor Leschetizky | Annette Hullah
  • She put into her movements a certain fullness of swing, to bring out the effect which a marked rallentando gives the notes.

  • Such a rallentando effect is like the apparent pause in the rush of a river before it thunders over a precipice.

    Play-Making | William Archer
  • Or we can gradually increase or decrease our tempo, creating accelerando and rallentando effects.

    Irradiations; Sand and Spray | John Gould Fletcher
  • I can hear the diminuendo rallentando of the orchestra as the gold dulls, the scarlet fades to rose, the rose to pink.

    An American Girl in Munich | Mabel W. Daniels

British Dictionary definitions for rallentando

rallentando

/ (ˌrælɛnˈtændəʊ) /


adjective, adverb
  1. music becoming slower: Abbreviation: rall Also: ritardando, ritenuto

Origin of rallentando

1
C19: Italian, from rallentare to slow down

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