Debussy

American  

[deb-yoo-see, dey-byoo-, duh-byoo-see, duh-by-see] / ˌdɛb jʊˈsi, ˌdeɪ bjʊ-, dəˈbju si, də büˈsi /

noun

1. Claude Achille 1862–1918, French composer.

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Debussy British  

/ ˈdeɪbjuːsɪ, dəˈbjuːsɪ, dəbysi /

noun

1. ( Achille ) Claude (klod). 1862–1918, French composer and critic, the creator of impressionism in music and a profound influence on contemporary composition. His works include Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune (1894) and La Mer (1905) for orchestra, the opera Pelléas et Mélisande (1902), and many piano pieces and song settings

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Other Word Forms

• Debussyan
  adjective

Example Sentences

Titled My Life In Music, it included touching performances of pieces by Rachmaninoff, Bach and Debussy - approached with a sense of tender nostalgia, as she reflected on her career.

From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026

The French have given us Delacroix, Debussy, Claire Denis and Simone de Beauvoir, along with some of the goofiest of goofball comedies.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 21, 2026

He never did, but his late recordings of Debussy and Beethoven have their moments of the quiet, slow-moving, time-stopping quality of Feldman’s late piano scores.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2024

Hodges also plans to record an album with works by Debussy and contemporary composers, similar to his double portrait of Beethoven and Birtwistle.

From New York Times • Aug. 7, 2023

Claude Debussy was so intrigued by the Javanese dancers and musicians at the 1899 World’s Fair in Paris that he developed techniques for evoking the exotic sounds of the gamelan on a Western piano.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall