contrapuntal

[ kon-truh-puhn-tl ]

adjectiveMusic.
  1. of or relating to counterpoint.

  2. composed of two or more relatively independent melodies sounded together.

Origin of contrapuntal

1
1835–45; <Italian contrappunt(o) + -al1. See counterpoint

Other words from contrapuntal

  • con·tra·pun·tal·ly, adverb

Words Nearby contrapuntal

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use contrapuntal in a sentence

  • The themes are not good of their sort, the sort being, as he said, the sort that are useful for contrapuntal working.

    Richard Wagner | John F. Runciman
  • So he showed himself neither a great poet-composer nor a contrapuntal adept.

    Richard Wagner | John F. Runciman
  • One is ever conscious in Reger that he is solving contrapuntal problems in order to astonish the vulgar herd of the professors.

    Musical Portraits | Paul Rosenfeld
  • For, like Bruckner's, they appear chosen with an eye to their serviceability for contrapuntal deformation and dissection.

    Musical Portraits | Paul Rosenfeld
  • More free in form was the motet, in which religious subjects were treated in contrapuntal fashion.

    Woman's Work in Music | Arthur Elson

British Dictionary definitions for contrapuntal

contrapuntal

/ (ˌkɒntrəˈpʌntəl) /


adjective
  1. music characterized by counterpoint

Origin of contrapuntal

1
C19: from Italian contrappunto counterpoint + al 1

Derived forms of contrapuntal

  • contrapuntally, adverb

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