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absolute music

American

noun

instrumental music, as a concerto or string quartet, that draws no inspiration from or makes no reference to a text, program, visual image, or title and that exists solely in terms of its musical form, structure, and elements.

absolute music British

noun

music that is not designed to depict or evoke any scene or event Compare programme music

"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

Etymology

Origin of absolute music

First recorded in 1885–90

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How does absolute-music compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

program music vs. absolute music

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023