Nearby Words
cre·scen·do
[kri-shen-doh, -sen-doh; It. kre-shen-daw] noun, plural -dos, -di [-dee] , adjective, adverb, verb noun
1.
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).
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Crescendo
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is subtilize. Does it mean:
| to run away hurriedly; flee. |
| to introduce subtleties into or argue subtly about. |
verb (used without object)
5.
to grow in force or loudness.
Origin:
1770–80; < Italian: literally, growing < Latin crēscendum, gerund of crēscere to grow; see crescent
1770–80; < Italian: literally, growing < Latin crēscendum, gerund of crēscere to grow; see crescent
Antonyms
1. diminuendo.
1. diminuendo.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To crescendo
Collins
World English Dictionary
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
crescendo
1776 as a musical direction, from It. crescendo "increasing," from L. crescendo, abl. of gerund of crescere "to increase." Fig. use is from 1785. As a verb, from 1900.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary
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.”
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.