Crescendo definition | Dictionary.com

cre⋅scen⋅do

[kri-shen-doh, -sen-doh; It. kre-shen-daw]

noun, plural -dos, -di [-dee]

,
adjective, adverb, verb

–noun

Music.

a.	a gradual, steady increase in loudness or force.

b.	a musical passage characterized by such an increase.

c.	the performance of a crescendo passage: The crescendo by the violins is too abrupt.

2.	a steady increase in force or intensity: The rain fell in a crescendo on the rooftops.

3.	the climactic point or moment in such an increase; peak: The authorities finally took action when public outrage reached a crescendo.

–adjective, adverb

4.	gradually increasing in force, volume, or loudness (opposed to decrescendo or diminuendo ).

–verb (used without object)

5.	to grow in force or loudness.

Origin:
1770–80; < It: lit., growing < L crēscendum, ger. of crēscere to grow; see crescent

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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Language Translation for : Crescendo

Spanish:

crescendo,

German:

das Crescendo,

Japanese:

次第に強く

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cres·cen·do (krə-shěn'dō) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. cres·cen·dos or cres·cen·di (-dē)

Abbr. cr. Music
1. A gradual increase, especially in the volume or intensity of sound in a passage.
2. A passage played with a gradual increase in volume or intensity.
3. A steady increase in intensity or force: "insisted [that] all paragraphs ... should be structured as a crescendo rising to a climactic last sentence" (Henry A. Kissinger).
4. Usage Problem The climactic point or moment after such a progression: "The attacks ... began in December ... and reached a crescendo during [the president's] September visit" (Foreign Affairs).
1. A steady increase in intensity or force: "insisted [that] all paragraphs ... should be structured as a crescendo rising to a climactic last sentence" (Henry A. Kissinger).
2. Usage Problem The climactic point or moment after such a progression: "The attacks ... began in December ... and reached a crescendo during [the president's] September visit" (Foreign Affairs).

adj.   Gradually increasing in volume, force, or intensity.
adv.   Music
With a crescendo.
intr.v.   cres·cen·doed, cres·cen·do·ing, cres·cen·does
To build up to or reach a point of great intensity, force, or volume: "The designer-name craze crescendoed in the mid-seventies" (Bernice Kanner).

[Italian, present participle of crescere, to increase, from Latin crēscere; see ker-² in Indo-European roots.]

Usage Note: Crescendo is sometimes used by reputable speakers and writers to denote a climax or peak, as in noise level, rather than an increase. Although citational evidence over time attests to widespread currency, it is difficult for anyone acquainted with the technical musical sense of crescendo to use it to mean "a peak." Fifty-five percent of the Usage Panel rejected it in the sentence When the guard sank a three-pointer to tie the game, the noise of the crowd reached a crescendo.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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crescendo
adjective
1.	gradually increasing in volume
noun
1.	(music) a gradual increase in loudness
verb
1.	grow louder; "The music crescendoes here" [ant: decrescendo]

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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crescendo [(kruh-shen-doh)]

A musical direction used to indicate increasing loudness.

Note: The term is sometimes used figuratively to indicate rising intensity in general: “As the days went on, there was a crescendo of angry letters about my speech.” Crescendo is also sometimes misused to indicate a peak of intensity, as in, “The angry letters about my speech hit a crescendo on Wednesday.”

Crescendo

Cres*cen"do\ (kr?s-s?n"d?; It. kr?-sh?n"d?), a. & adv. [It., from crescere to increase. See Crescent.] (Mus.) With a constantly increasing volume of voice; with gradually increasing strength and fullness of tone; -- a direction for the performance of music, indicated by the mark, or by writing the word on the score.

Crescendo

Cres*cen"do\, n. (Mus.) (a) A gradual increase in the strength and fullness of tone with which a passage is performed. (b) A passage to be performed with constantly increasing volume of tone.

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www.Crescendo.com

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