falsetto
Americannoun
-
an unnaturally or artificially high-pitched voice or register, especially in a man.
-
a person, especially a man, who sings with such a voice.
adjective
adverb
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of falsetto
1765–75; < Italian, equivalent to fals ( o ) (< Latin falsus false ) + -etto -et
Explanation
Falsetto is a male singing voice that's unusually high. It's a voice so high it sounds false. A guy singing a mean falsetto could break a wine glass! Falsetto is a musical term for a male voice that's artificially high. Falsetto means “artificial voice” and comes from the Italian word falso for “false.” When men suddenly sing way up high above their speaking voices, it can sound almost fake. This word can also be used as an adjective — you could say he's a falsetto singer or a certain part should be sung with a falsetto voice. When you see the word falsetto, think "high voice."
Vocabulary lists containing falsetto
The Catcher in the Rye
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Music - Middle School
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The Sea of Monsters
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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.
See Examples For:
“I did that yesterday, when I was a kid,” he sings over hectic guitar strums, and his trilling digital falsetto, warped to maximize irritation, makes clear that those days are far behind him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
“Slap the City” clatters and coos with R&B falsetto and at least makes the blank nihilism of Drake’s dating life feel self-aware.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2026
On “All Them Horses” Mr. Kahan ably channels Mr. Vernon’s falsetto howl on a song that uses a flood as a metaphor for personal transformation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026
Singing in a delicate falsetto, his voice conveys some of the frailty of age, lending the song a powerful emotional punch.
From BBC ● Mar. 26, 2026
He called out in falsetto, “Not quite, dearest! A few more days!”
From "The Sea of Monsters" by Rick Riordan
In Hill's song with iconic '90s R&B artist, D'Angelo, "Nothing Even Matters," the two showcase through buttery falsettos and a stunning vocal performance that love is the answer.
From Salon ● Aug. 27, 2023
Somewhat obscured at the time by the hairy chests and falsettos of their disco peak was the enduring brilliance of Gibb’s songwriting.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 22, 2023
Sasfy added, “The style is clear — male passion and pain made real by exaggerated timing, breathless gasps, resounding basso profundo, swooping falsettos and nervous yelps.”
From Washington Post ● Oct. 22, 2022
He began yowling along, tacking his versions of Jackson’s famous grunts and falsettos into the space between each phrase: “If they say why, why, tell ’em that it’s human nature!
From The New Yorker ● May 6, 2019
With downcast head, the mutilated wretch—for he was one of those maimed from their youth to sing falsettos in the choir of St. Peter—pondered how to act.
From Rule of the Monk or, Rome in the Nineteenth Century by Garibaldi, Giuseppe
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.
