pianissimo

American  

[pee-uh-nis-uh-moh, pyah-nees-see-maw] / ˌpi əˈnɪs əˌmoʊ, pyɑˈnis siˌmɔ /

adjective

1. very soft.

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adverb

1. very softly.

noun

PLURAL

pianissimos

1. a passage or movement played in this way.

pianissimo British  

/ pɪəˈnɪsɪˌməʊ /

adjective

1.  pp.  music (to be performed) very quietly

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pianissimo Cultural  

1. A musical direction meaning “to be performed very softly”; the opposite of fortissimo.

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Etymology

Origin of pianissimo

1715–25; < Italian, superlative of piano piano ²

Example Sentences

I told them, ‘Is there a way we can find space for rubato, pianissimo, glissando — all of that — so we can really play in the music?’

From Los Angeles Times

Then in that first sort of chorus, where it’s quieter, more pianissimo, “I’m defying gravity. I think it’s time to defy gravity,” she’s not quite sure.

From Los Angeles Times

And Lim’s soft playing is particularly sensitive, as in the pleading quality he brings to a tiny pianissimo quintuplet in Op.

From New York Times

In “Senta’s Ballad,” she catapulted into high-lying phrases with strength and point and drew her voice into a slender thread for beautifully formed pianissimo high notes.

From New York Times

Schiff, as in his touch at a keyboard, relished the extremes of Schubert’s “Unfinished” Symphony — the opening truly pianissimo, the forzando notes truly explosive.

From New York Times