crescendo

American  

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

noun

plural

crescendos, crescendi

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.

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adjective

1. gradually increasing in force, volume, or loudness (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

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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.

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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; crescent

Example Sentences

Investor anxiety hit a crescendo in November, when Blue Owl, the poster child for private-credit lending, scrapped a plan to merge two funds it manages.

From The Wall Street Journal

They appear about midway through the installation as an exciting crescendo.

From The Wall Street Journal

It’s fitting that the trajectory leads not toward a splashy crescendo but the softer, melancholy landing of the finale “Our Time”: starry-eyed dreams sung on a rooftop in 1957.

From Los Angeles Times

It’s a film so flush with ambition that it rarely crescendos; it can afford to chop sequences, songs, even genres, down to a string of snippets.

From Los Angeles Times

In previous films “The Big Sick” and “Spoiler Alert,” the writer-director managed to tee up more than a few last-minute emotional crescendos.

From Salon

Related Words

• escalation
• upsurge