adjective
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of or relating to melody
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of or relating to a part in a piece of music
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tuneful or melodious
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of melodic
1815–25; < Late Latin melōdicus < Greek melōidikós. See melody, -ic
Explanation
Something that's tuneful or pretty to listen to is melodic. If your French teacher has a friendly smile and a melodic voice, you could probably sit and listen to her talk for hours. Anything sweet sounding — a bird's trill, a poet's voice, or the tune you sing in the shower — is melodic. A more technical meaning of the word is "containing melody," the definition a professional musician might use. Melody is a quality of music defined as "tunefulness" or "a satisfying series of notes." Music teachers play melodic patterns for their students to duplicate, and composers sometimes combine melodic phrases to form a symphony. The Greek root of melodic is melos, or "song."
Vocabulary lists containing melodic
Music - Middle School
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Music - High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Belfast rapper was named in the shortlist for Best Melodic Rap Performance alongside Beyoncé and the Weeknd for his song Kehlani.
From BBC • Nov. 15, 2024
Melodic intonation therapy, for instance, is a promising approach to train people with aphasia to sing what they want to say, using their intact "musical mechanisms" to bypass damaged speech mechanisms.
From Science Daily • May 28, 2024
American Idol > Melodic Crania: This week, contestants sing songs that are sure to get stuck in your head.
From Washington Post • Nov. 11, 2021
Melodic Bavarians bound for Munich meet a bickering librettist and a prima donna.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 19, 2020
If you would like to introduce some of these concepts and terms to children, please see A Melody Activity20 , The Shape of a Melody2l, Melodic Phrases22 , and Theme and Motif in Music23 .
From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
