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mezzo forte

American  
[met-soh fawr-tey] / ˈmɛt soʊ ˈfɔr teɪ /

adverb

Music.
  1. somewhat softer than forte but louder than piano; moderately loud.


Etymology

Origin of mezzo forte

1805–15; < Italian: literally, half loud

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.

See Examples For:

You mention chaos a lot, but the range of dynamics on this page is piano to mezzo forte, which is quite modest.

From New York Times Apr. 4, 2018

Mr. Gandolfi remembered that Bernstein had taken him to task for ending his piece mezzo forte, or moderately loud.

From New York Times Aug. 6, 2015

“He said: ‘You can’t end a piece on mezzo forte!

From New York Times Aug. 6, 2015

Moderate, mezzo forte crescendo, basses and then tenors intoned the first portentous words: "Who must file."

From Time Magazine Archive

If the wood winds sound ragged, he stops the players, explains to the culprit that he has been playing piano instead of mezzo forte, achieves on the next try a precise, organlike tone.

From Time Magazine Archive

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