polyphonic
Americanadjective
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consisting of many voices or sounds.
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Music.
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having two or more voices or parts, each with an independent melody, but all harmonizing; contrapuntal (opposed to homophonic).
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pertaining to music of this kind.
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capable of producing more than one tone at a time, as an organ or a harp.
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Phonetics. having more than one phonetic value, as the letter s, that is voiced (z) in nose and unvoiced (s) in salt.
adjective
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music composed of relatively independent melodic lines or parts; contrapuntal
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many-voiced
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phonetics of, relating to, or denoting a polyphone
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of polyphonic
Vocabulary lists containing polyphonic
Music - Middle School
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Music - High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Polyphonic group improvising was central to early New Orleans jazz, and the joy of hearing horn players trade and haggle over melodies has always been part of the tradition.
From New York Times • Feb. 24, 2022
The music’s reminiscent of such pioneers as the Byrds, Phil Spector and Nick Drake, but also Oasis, World Party and the Polyphonic Spree.
From Washington Times • May 15, 2018
Think: The Polyphonic Spree with the fervent upbeat tempo of an Icona Pop song fronted by Jack White.
From Time • Feb. 6, 2014
The festival is the family-friendly younger sibling of Bestival and will also feature apperances from Toots and the Maytals, the Polyphonic Spree, Sasha and the Horrible Histories team.
From The Guardian • Feb. 12, 2013
Polyphonic music can also be called polyphony, counterpoint, or contrapuntal music.
From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
