ritardando
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of ritardando
1805–15; < Italian, gerund of ritardare; see retard
Compare meaning
How does ritardando compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
When you come to a passage marked ritardando in a piece of music, you know you need to start decreasing the tempo. Like most instructions in music, ritardando is Italian. It means "gradually slowing down," and is usually abbreviated to ritard. or rit. Like -endo, the ending -ando indicates a process, or a gradual change. Rallentando also means "gradually slowing down," but the two instructions are used differently. 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.
Vocabulary lists containing ritardando
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.
Indris also showed the ability to maintain a constant rhythm as they decreased the tempo of their songs, a process known as ritardando in classical music.
From Scientific American ● Oct. 25, 2021
The combination of crescendo and ritardando is also tremendously effective.
From Essentials in Conducting by Karl Wilson Gehrkens
Always, throughout—as sempre legato, smooth throughout; sempre ritardando, continually slackening the time. 7tte Septet. 6tte Sextet, or Sestet.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various
In the second part Beethoven introduced the phrase in A flat major, by a ritardando of the two preceding bars.
From Life of Beethoven by Anton Schindler
It closes with a drooping, yearning ritardando that quite prepares us for the next languishing measures.
From Stars of the Opera by Mabel Wagnalls
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.
