viola
1a four-stringed musical instrument of the violin family, slightly larger than the violin; a tenor or alto violin.
a labial organ stop of eight-foot or four-foot pitch, giving tones of a penetrating stringlike quality.
Origin of viola
1Words that may be confused with viola
- viola , voilà
Words Nearby viola
Other definitions for viola (2 of 3)
any plant of the genus Viola, especially a cultivated variety.: Compare pansy (def. 1), violet (defs. 1, 2).
a pansy, V. cornuta, cultivated as a garden plant.
Origin of viola
2Other definitions for Viola (3 of 3)
a female given name.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use viola in a sentence
For a pair such as viola and Perov, who have co-created work for decades, there is also precedent for retroactive co-authorship.
Few know that I also learned the viola, but gave it up after a year.
I first began studying viola with Mr. K after fourth grade, after flaming out spectacularly at piano.
No one thought I could play the viola—until Mr K came into my life.
(viola, Twelfth Night, 3.4.304–305) What these plays all need, in production, is that sensitivity to the sea.
You don't mind asking viola to take your name, but you consider it an insult if you are asked to take my name.
First Plays | A. A. MilneSister viola, I am glad to see you stirring: its news to have me here, ist not, sister?
Punch did not acquit her viola of a certain restlessness, but acknowledged that at times she acted like one inspired.
Mr. Punch's History of Modern England Vol. IV of IV. | Charles L. GravesEdith Arbuthnot had arrived, bringing with her a violinist, a viola-player and a 'cellist, but neither maid nor luggage.
Dodo's Daughter | E. F. BensonThe same work for two violins and viola, and as a sonata for pianoforte and violin, was advertised at the same time.
The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven, Volume II (of 3) | Alexander Wheelock Thayer
British Dictionary definitions for viola (1 of 2)
/ (vɪˈəʊlə) /
a bowed stringed instrument, the alto of the violin family; held beneath the chin when played. It is pitched and tuned an octave above the cello
any of various instruments of the viol family, such as the viola da gamba
Origin of viola
1British Dictionary definitions for viola (2 of 2)
/ (ˈvaɪələ, vaɪˈəʊ-) /
any temperate perennial herbaceous plant of the violaceous genus Viola, the flowers of which have showy irregular petals, white, yellow, blue, or mauve in colour: See also violet (def. 1), pansy (def. 1)
Origin of viola
2Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for viola
[ (vee-oh-luh) ]
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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