rallentando
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of rallentando
1805–15; < Italian, gerund of rallentare to slow down; see lento
Compare meaning
How does rallentando compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
When the instruction rallentando shows up in your sheet music, whether you're singing or playing an instrument, you should start decreasing the tempo. Rallentando means "gradually slowing down" in Italian. It's based on the root word lente, which means "slowly," and anything ending in -ando or -endo in Italian indicates a process, or a gradual change. Ritardando also means "gradually slowing down." What's the difference between the two instructions? Rallentando usually applies when the tempo is about to change from a faster section to a slower one, whereas ritardando is used at the end of a piece, where it slows gradually to a complete stop.
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.
So I ran to the music, and, sure enough, that’s exactly what C.P.E. was asking for — no diminuendo, no rallentando, nothing.
From New York Times ● Jan. 18, 2022
The spirit of Clive James was as undimmed, and as witty as ever, but his tempo was rallentando, not rubato, conducted in a minor key of reflective and poignant sweetness.
From The Guardian ● May 31, 2014
MacGregor's daring extended to closing the penultimate variation with an open-pedal rallentando that allowed the original theme to re-emerge as though through a blanket of fog.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 6, 2013
In music it is called rallentando, a gradual slackening of tempo, a winding down.
From Time Magazine Archive
Soon this is worked up to a big forte rallentando effect, which leads into the last theme, pianissimo to begin with, getting quicker and quicker and more crescendo to the coda, which is presto fortissimo.
From Shakespeare and Music by Christopher Wilson
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.
