allegro
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of allegro
1625–35; < Italian < Latin alacer brisk. Cf. alacrity
Explanation
In music, allegro distinguishes a movement that's meant to be played very quickly. Your piano teacher might instruct you to try playing a piece allegro. If you're reading sheet music and you see the word allegro, you'll know that particular section or movement should be played in a lively, spirited way. There are many Italian musical terms that describe or direct the tempo, or speed, of the music, and allegro is one of these. The word means "cheerful or gay" in Italian from the Latin root alacrem, "lively, cheerful, or brisk."
Vocabulary lists containing allegro
Curtain Call: Dance and Theater Terms
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Music - Middle School
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Music - High School
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
Like the Weber, Farrenc’s Third packs a punch early with the first movement’s surge from adagio to allegro, effervescently realized across the strings on Thursday.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 18, 2022
As company class nears its end, artistic director Peter Boal sets a grand allegro combination, telling the dancers they can use the final four counts to do whatever they want.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 13, 2021
The sounds the pieces make against the board change, as do the rhythms — from allegro to adagio.
From New York Times ● Oct. 16, 2020
Where golf architects hear an allegro and an adagio, championship officials hear cash registers.
From Golf Digest ● Aug. 29, 2016
Gasping for air like I just completed a grand allegro combination.
From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day
But the words she wrote are a symphony, an ode to the joy of wilderness, adagios and allegros and leitmotifs that sing out from the page.
From Scientific American ● May 2, 2013
In Viva Vivaldi!, one of the finest examples of bravura dancing ever fashioned, he is all glitter and grin, allowing his dancers to free their inventiveness in a blur of twinkling allegros.
From Time Magazine Archive
As most first movements in the sonatas of that composer are allegros I tried the beginning several times as an allegro, but it sounded radically wrong.
From Violin Mastery Talks with Master Violinists and Teachers by Martens, Frederick Herman
His allegros are sometimes difficult; but the passages fairly belong to the instrument for which they were composed, and were suggested by his consummate knowledge of the finger-board and the powers of the bow.
From The Violin Its Famous Makers and Their Imitators by Hart, George
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.
