crescendo
Music.
a gradual, steady increase in loudness or force.
a musical passage characterized by such an increase.
the performance of a crescendo passage: The crescendo by the violins is too abrupt.
a steady increase in force or intensity: The rain fell in a crescendo on the rooftops.
the climactic point or moment in such an increase; peak: The authorities finally took action when public outrage reached a crescendo.
gradually increasing in force, volume, or loudness (opposed to decrescendo or diminuendo).
to grow in force or loudness.
Origin of crescendo
1Opposites for crescendo
Words Nearby crescendo
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use crescendo in a sentence
The heat will begin to manifest itself in abnormally high temperatures Saturday before becoming entrenched Sunday and reaching a crescendo Monday.
Yet another major heat wave is set to roast the western U.S. and Canada by the weekend | Matthew Cappucci | July 14, 2021 | Washington PostMusic swells, crescendos, and then it ends — opening the door for something new.
Mobile-first has been a priority of Google’s for years as the beat of the user experience drum has grown to a crescendo.
Mobile-first and Core Web Vitals: connecting the dots for page experience success | Jim Yu | April 2, 2021 | Search Engine WatchThat’s what the researchers were really trying to get at by now, as the study reached its crescendo.
Can I Ask You a Ridiculously Personal Question? (Ep. 451) | Stephen J. Dubner | February 11, 2021 | FreakonomicsThe sermon reaches a singsong crescendo with Huling in an Ozzy Osbourne rock-star crouch screaming into the microphone.
Raphael Warnock’s campaign for the moral high ground | Clyde McGrady | January 2, 2021 | Washington Post
When things reached the ludicrous crescendo of the finale—when neither story made sense—my heart sank.
What On Earth Is ‘The Affair’ About? Season One’s Baffling Finale | Tim Teeman | December 22, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST“It is only loyal to the Iranian leadership,” he concludes with a crescendo.
The Sheikh Who Wants to Put the Hurt on Hezbollah in Lebanon | Jamie Dettmer | July 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTGlobal attention and anger about the kidnapping, after a slow start, is now reaching a thunderous crescendo.
The chants grew louder before reaching an eardrum-piercing crescendo when the 2013 Arab Idol glided on stage.
The nearly half-decade movement to repeal and replace the medical device tax reached a crescendo on Tuesday.
The words dropped from her lips in a sibilous 184 crescendo as her blood drove her to a display of emotion.
A Virginia Scout | Hugh PendexterNow it was plain enough, and began swelling from a purring rattle to the crescendo of an approaching wind storm.
The Code of the Mountains | Charles Neville BuckAs the drum began to beat the tattoo and the bugle to rise on a crescendo of lovely notes, soldiers swarmed toward the barracks.
Greyfriars Bobby | Eleanor AtkinsonThe usual cry is a crescendo ku-il, ku-il, ku-il, which to Indian ears is very sweet-sounding.
A Bird Calendar for Northern India | Douglas DewarAnd it is a mutual crescendo between the 'perfidious Seckendorf' and them; without work done.
History of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Vol. XV. (of XXI.) | Thomas Carlyle
British Dictionary definitions for crescendo
/ (krɪˈʃɛndəʊ) /
music
a gradual increase in loudness or the musical direction or symbol indicating this: Abbreviation: cresc, (written over the music affected) ≺
(as modifier): a crescendo passage
a gradual increase in loudness or intensity: the rising crescendo of a song
a peak of noise or intensity: the cheers reached a crescendo
(intr) to increase in loudness or force
with a crescendo
Origin of crescendo
1Collins 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 crescendo
[ (kruh-shen-doh) ]
A musical direction used to indicate increasing loudness.
Notes for crescendo
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Browse