Etymology
Origin of chromaticism
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.
But Mr. Haas’s work is much easier on the ear than most Stockhausen—more consonant and not especially taken up with chromaticism.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 6, 2025
“It’s certainly not Mozart. It’s more contemporary and plays with crunchier chords. We’re playing with a bit more chromaticism and distorting the rhythm.”
From Seattle Times • May 23, 2023
Its small bursts of chromaticism can sometimes sound jokey.
From New York Times • Feb. 24, 2022
Full of beautiful chromaticism and exposed instrumentation, it’s almost like Bernard Herrmann came back from the dead to score an Amazon Prime show.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 2, 2020
The harmony is in meltdown because Wagner has used chromaticism, the promiscuous use of all the subdivisions in the scale, to put you in an unsettling place.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
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.
