noun, plural -dos, -di [-dee]
, adjective, adverb, verb | 1. | Music.
|
| 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. |
| 4. | gradually increasing in force, volume, or loudness (opposed to decrescendo or diminuendo ). |
| 5. | to grow in force or loudness. |
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.”