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• aria
  aria

  noun

  an air or melody.
• Aria
  Aria

  noun

  a nymph, the mother of Miletus, by Apollo.
• -aria
  -aria

  a suffix occurring in scientific terms of Latin origin, especially in names of biological genera and groups.

aria

¹ American  

[ahr-ee-uh, air-ee-uh] / ˈɑr i ə, ˈɛər i ə /

noun

1. an air or melody.

2. an elaborate melody sung solo with accompaniment, as in an opera or oratorio.

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Aria ² American  

[ahr-ee-uh, uh-rahy-uh] / ˈɑr i ə, əˈraɪ ə /

noun

Classical Mythology.

1. a nymph, the mother of Miletus, by Apollo.

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-aria ³ American  

1. a suffix occurring in scientific terms of Latin origin, especially in names of biological genera and groups.

   filaria.

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aria British  

/ ˈɑːrɪə /

noun

1. an elaborate accompanied song for solo voice from a cantata, opera, or oratorio See also da capo

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aria Cultural  

1. A piece of music for one voice (or occasionally two voices) in an opera, oratorio, or cantata. In contrast with recitative singing, arias are melodious; in contrast with ordinary songs, arias are usually elaborate.

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Discover More

Some composers, such as Richard Wagner, have felt that arias interrupt the action of opera too much and hence have written operas without them.

Etymology

Origin of aria¹

From Italian, dating back to 1735–45; see origin at air ¹

Origin of -aria³

< Latin: feminine singular or neuter plural of -ārius -ary

Explanation

An aria is an elaborate song written specifically for a solo voice. If you find yourself belting out "Che gelida manina" from La Boheme in the shower, you’ve just been performing an aria. The word aria comes from the Italian and means "air." The word is often used to describe songs from operas. Two famous ones include “L’amour est un oiseau rebelle” — "Love is a rebellious bird" — and “O mio babbino caro” — "Oh my dear Papa!" It is sometimes used almost metaphorically to describe someone’s impressive solo performance of any type. Arias within opera, and classical music in general, are almost always accompanied by instrumental music, but there is only one voice.

Example Sentences

Pavlick leads ARIA, a National Science Foundation AI research institute at Brown focused on building trustworthy AI assistants.

From Science Daily • Mar. 2, 2026

The FDA has required that the company warn doctors about ARIA.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 17, 2024

Around one-quarter of the participants in Eli Lilly’s phase III trial developed ARIA, and three died of the condition.

From Scientific American • Jul. 18, 2023

The condition, which shows up on brain scans, is called ARIA, for amyloid-related imaging abnormalities.

From Washington Post • Jan. 6, 2023

ARIA, in the transparent cylinder, sinking down through the blue, like a leaf, settling gently to the earth a hundred feet away.

From Circle of Flight by Stockham, Richard