contralto

[ kuhn-tral-toh ]

/ kənˈtræl toʊ /

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noun, plural con·tral·tos.

the lowest female voice or voice part, intermediate between soprano and tenor.

the alto, or highest male voice or voice part.

a singer with a contralto voice.

adjective

pertaining to the contralto voice or its compass.

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Origin of contralto

1720–30; <Italian, equivalent to contr(a) contra-² + alto alto

Words nearby contralto

contra-guide rudder, contrail, contraindicate, contraindicated, contralateral, contralto, contranym, contraoctave, contraorbital, contraplete, contrapose

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use contralto in a sentence

'My Lord, What a Night'Two gifted originals in divergent pursuits — music and physics — come together in this Ford’s Theatre production, based on the true story of the friendship between contralto Marian Anderson and scientist Albert Einstein.
After a devastating lull, theater is coming back big|Peter Marks|September 10, 2021|Washington Post
That is not an instrument for the production of tones in the contralto compass.
The Child-Voice in Singing|Francis E. Howard
What she sang he did not know, but her deep contralto, holding heaven in its tones, he both knew and understood.
The White Shield|Myrtle Reed
The contralto and I were talking about it one day on the train and saying how glad we should be to get away from it.
Memoirs of an American Prima Donna|Clara Louise Kellogg

With that there smote on our ears the sounds of two voices in altercation outside—one a woman's high contralto.
The Adventures of Harry Revel|Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch
Through the warm air, heavy with the perfume of flowers, floated the contralto voice of Dolores.
The Harlequin Opal, Vol. 1 (of 3)|Fergus Hume

British Dictionary definitions for contralto

contralto

/ (kənˈtræltəʊ, -ˈtrɑːl-) /

noun plural -tos or -ti (-tɪ)

the lowest female voice, usually having a range of approximately from F a fifth below middle C to D a ninth above itIn the context of a choir often shortened to: alto

a singer with such a voice

adjective

of or denoting a contraltothe contralto part

Word Origin for contralto

C18: from Italian; see contra-, alto

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

Cultural definitions for contralto

contralto

[ (kuhn-tral-toh) ]

The lowest range of the female singing voice; alto.

contralto

Origin of contralto

Words nearby contralto

Words related to contralto

How to use contralto in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for contralto

Word Origin for contralto

Cultural definitions for contralto