polytonal
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
- polytonally adverb
Etymology
Origin of polytonal
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 sparse acoustic guitar at the beginning is deceptive; soon she’s in a polytonal tangle of horns, guitars and cross-rhythms, living up to her admonishment: “Bite off as much as you can chew.”
From New York Times • Apr. 7, 2023
Her testy voice is surrounded in a rich, polytonal murk: multiple tracks of Aquiles Navarro’s trumpet, Keir Neuringer’s saxophone and Kyle Kidd’s vocals over a slowly heaving bass line, burdened but determined.
From New York Times • Mar. 24, 2023
Pentatonic arpeggios pile up in multiple keys; a polytonal roar escalates and evaporates.
From New York Times • Jun. 9, 2022
Much of his diffuse, polytonal music is as difficult as trying to play a Bach fugue on a musical saw�and often as strange to listen to.
From Time Magazine Archive
Ives' great "Concord" Sonata is a massive four-movement impressionistic piece marked by dense, polytonal chords, rhythmic daring and wit.
From Time Magazine Archive
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.
