arioso

[ahr-ee-oh-soh, ar-; Italian ah-ryaw-saw]Music.

See more synonyms for arioso on Thesaurus.com

adjective, adverb

in the manner of an air or melody.

noun, plural a·rio·sos.

an arioso composition or section.

Origin of arioso

1735–45; < Italian: literally, songlike. See aria, -ose¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for arioso

melodious, dulcet, ariose, arioso, canorous

Examples from the Web for arioso

Historical Examples of arioso

Then it degenerates somewhat into an arioso, almost Italian.
Contemporary American Composers
Rupert Hughes
The oboe has a kind of arioso phrase with trilling of flutes and clarinets, answered in trumpets and harp.
Symphonies and Their Meaning; Third Series, Modern Symphonies
Philip H. Goepp
Still more impressively is this mastery of expression shown in the arioso recitatives.
Music in the History of the Western Church
Edward Dickinson
His forms are very free, and the recitative is almost wholly in the arioso style with full orchestral accompaniment.
How Music Developed
W. J. Henderson
Arioso in the recitative indicates an interpolated passage of vocal melody.
Life Of Mozart, Vol. 1 (of 3)
Otto Jahn

British Dictionary definitions for arioso

arioso

noun plural -sos or -si (-siː)

music a recitative with the lyrical quality of an aria

Word Origin for arioso

C18: from Italian, from aria

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for arioso

"melodious, in a melodious way," 1742, from Italian aria "melody" (see aria).