percussive
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of percussive
First recorded in 1785–95; percuss(ion) + -ive
Vocabulary lists containing percussive
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.
It may also continue to haunt us forever after, as in the bone-clanking, teeth-chattering, spookily percussive 1929 animated Disney cartoon frolic, “The Skeleton Dance.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
She recorded the new album with the same team — the hit-making writer-producers Ilya Salmanzadeh and Max Martin — but here they go for a murkier, more percussive sound to match Grande’s dark mood.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
Also percussive yet much quieter is Anri Sala’s snare drum, dangling upside down from the ceiling at Esther Schipper.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
This results in percussive sounds of body parts clapping against one another and the ground.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 13, 2026
Little percussive hisses of music were leaking from his ears.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
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.
