intermezzo

[ in-ter-met-soh, -med-zoh ]

/ ˌɪn tərˈmɛt soʊ, -ˈmɛd zoʊ /

Save This Word!

noun, plural in·ter·mez·zos, in·ter·mez·zi

[in-ter-met-see, -med-zee], /ˌɪn tərˈmɛt si, -ˈmɛd zi/,

a short dramatic, musical, or other entertainment of light character, introduced between the acts of a drama or opera.

a short musical composition between main divisions of an extended musical work.

a short, independent musical composition.

QUIZ

CUDDLE UP! A COZY QUIZ ON FALL WORDS HAS ARRIVED

If autumn is your ideal season, spice up your repertoire of "fall" vocabulary with this quiz on some warm and vivid descriptive words for the season.

Question 1 of 10

Which of the following words means “to make a crackling sound; crackle”?

crisp

crepitate

fuscous

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

Origin of intermezzo

1805–15; <Italian <Late Latin intermedium;see intermediary

Words nearby intermezzo

intermenstrual pain, interment, intermetacarpal joint, intermetallic compound, intermetatarsal joint, intermezzo, intermigration, interminable, intermingle, intermission, intermissive

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use intermezzo in a sentence

Later it is interrupted by a lyric intermezzo, brief but pathetically sweet.
Descriptive Analyses of Piano Works|Edward Baxter Perry
Then follows an Intermezzo in the key of the relative minor.
The Pianoforte Sonata|J.S. Shedlock
Thus, in spite of the disturbing intermezzo, the concert terminated to the general satisfaction of all.
Louis Spohr's Autobiography|Louis Spohr
She swung round on her music-stool and began the intermezzo again, getting up as her aunt entered with Edith.
Arundel|Edward Frederic Benson

This note sounds much more clearly—one might say defiantly—through the last two acts of "Intermezzo."
The Lonely Way--Intermezzo--Countess Mizzie|Arthur Schnitzler

British Dictionary definitions for intermezzo

intermezzo

/ (ˌɪntəˈmɛtsəʊ) /

noun plural -zos or -zi (-tsiː)

a short piece of instrumental music composed for performance between the acts or scenes of an opera, drama, etc

an instrumental piece either inserted between two longer movements in an extended composition or intended for independent performance

another name for interlude (def. 3)

Word Origin for intermezzo

C19: from Italian, from Late Latin intermedium interval; see intermediate

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