percussive
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- nonpercussive adjective
- percussively adverb
- percussiveness noun
- unpercussive adjective
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.
He arrived in New York City in the early 1960s, and by the age of 20 drew attention to his plays, a riot of percussive energy.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 28, 2025
By the third song, Sit Down, Stand Up, they're flexing their musical muscles, with an extended outro of percussive lunacy, aided by US session musician Chris Vatalaro.
From BBC • Nov. 21, 2025
Insults hit her with a knife-like hiss of air; fresh schemes get her charging around to Hildur Guðnadóttir’s tumultuous, percussive score.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 22, 2025
It's the only song that really leans into the showgirl concept, with a percussive tap-dancing interlude and ostentatious key changes, as the stars trade lines about their cut-throat industry.
From BBC • Oct. 3, 2025
Termites make percussive sounds to each other by beating their heads against the floor in the dark, resonating corridors of their nests.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
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.
