crescendo

American  

[kri-shen-doh, -sen-doh, kre-shen-daw] / krɪˈʃɛn doʊ, -ˈsɛn doʊ, krɛˈʃɛn dɔ /

noun

crescendos, plural crescendi plural

1. Music.

   1. a gradual, steady increase in loudness or force.

   2. a musical passage characterized by such an increase.

   3. the performance of a crescendo passage.

      The crescendo by the violins is too abrupt.

   Antonyms:

   diminuendo

2. a steady increase in force or intensity.

   The rain fell in a crescendo on the rooftops.

3. the climactic point or moment in such an increase; peak.

   The authorities finally took action when public outrage reached a crescendo.

---

adjective

1. gradually increasing in force, volume, or loudness (opposed to decrescendo ordiminuendo ).

verb (used without object)

1. to grow in force or loudness.

crescendo British  

/ krɪˈʃɛndəʊ /

noun

1. music

   1.  cresc.  a gradual increase in loudness or the musical direction or symbol indicating this

   2. ( as modifier )

      a crescendo passage

2. a gradual increase in loudness or intensity

   the rising crescendo of a song

3. a peak of noise or intensity

   the cheers reached a crescendo

---

verb

1. (intr) to increase in loudness or force

adverb

1. with a crescendo

crescendo Cultural  

1. A musical direction used to indicate increasing loudness.

---

Discover More

The term is sometimes used figuratively to indicate rising intensity in general: “As the days went on, there was a crescendo of angry letters about my speech.” Crescendo is also sometimes misused to indicate a peak of intensity, as in, “The angry letters about my speech hit a crescendo on Wednesday.”

Etymology

Origin of crescendo

1770–80; < Italian: literally, growing < Latin crēscendum, gerund of crēscere to grow; see crescent

Explanation

In a crescendo, the music is getting louder. There's often a crescendo in a large group of talking people, too. This word comes from classical music, where it's very important how loudly the instruments play. If a tuba is crescendoing at the wrong time, then a quiet piano part might not be heard at all. The crescendo is important in all kinds of music, because volume — how loud something is — is one of the main features of music. If you are whispering and gradually raise your voice and then end up shouting, that's a crescendo as well.

Example Sentences

At that time he was unsure of what was coming next in a career that had reached an apparent crescendo with his tumultuous play-off win over Justin Rose at the 2025 Masters.

From BBC • May 12, 2026

The troubles reached a crescendo during the live finale when a distraught Tran revealed that the man she had chosen as her husband-to-be, Devin Strader, had ended their engagement a month before the broadcast.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2026

That could mean investors are in for more pain ahead, as major selloffs typically reach their crescendo as the volatility gauge peaks.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 19, 2026

In the last room, a crescendo of monumental full portraits, the atmosphere is symphonic.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 4, 2026

They feel like a crescendo, but they don’t necessarily seem to add up to one in terms of meaning.

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith

Related Words

• escalation
• upsurge