coloratura
Americannoun
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runs, trills, and other florid decorations in vocal music.
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a lyric soprano of high range who specializes in such music.
noun
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(in 18th- and 19th-century arias) a florid virtuoso passage
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( as modifier )
a coloratura aria
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Also called: coloratura soprano. a lyric soprano who specializes in such music
Etymology
Origin of coloratura
1730–40; < Italian < Late Latin: literally, coloring. See color, -ate 1, -ure
Explanation
Coloratura is a very fancy style of singing that includes lots of flourishes, trills, and high notes. In opera, a coloratura is a soprano who sings in this ornamental style. In Italian, coloratura means "coloring," and in music, coloratura takes a basic song or tune and adds splashes of musical color to it. Opera sopranos are especially good at this, singing lines and adding sobbing sounds to make them more tragic or happy trills to make them sound flirtatious or funny. In baroque music, instruments are often required to use coloratura, elaborate flourishes that add something extra to the music.
Vocabulary lists containing coloratura
National Spelling Bee '14: Prelims Round 2
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Split The Sky
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Opera Vocabulary
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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.
Soprano Gabriella Reyes brought both menace and comedy to Catrina, tossing off her coloratura laughter and rocking her costume of silvery bones painted on black and swathed in tulle.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 18, 2026
“She is a lyric coloratura, with a relatively small voice that carries in a big auditorium by virtue of its concentrated tone. And she is a complete actress, in voice and movement.”
From Seattle Times • Aug. 16, 2023
“Of course, darling,” she said, with a coloratura laugh.
From Slate • May 27, 2023
Seal Beach Symphony’s Mother’s Day Recital Pianist Van-Anh Nguyen and coloratura soprano Hila Plitman are among the performers slated for a program that includes works by Mozart, Vivaldi, Debussy and Chopin.
From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2023
It’s tough, because while doing all of the above, a coloratura must also be lighter and faster than all the other sopranos.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
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.
