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
But now the professional frustrations of midlife, mixed with the rallentando of getting on in years, contributed to an overwhelming sense of decline and failure.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 13, 2017
Now the fate of the novel and the novelist's own creative rallentando fuse into the Gatsby myth.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 2, 2013
What's needed to ward off incipient rallentando is a big, distracting counternoise, a Zarathustra crescendo.
From Time Magazine Archive
Among other points to be noted is the fact that sudden transition from repose to restless activity calls for an accelerando, while the reverse requires a rallentando.
From For Every Music Lover A Series of Practical Essays on Music by Moore, Aubertine Woodward
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.
