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View synonyms for unison

unison

[ yoo-nuh-suhn, -zuhn ]

noun

  1. coincidence in pitch of two or more musical tones, voices, etc.
  2. the musical interval of a perfect prime.
  3. the performance of musical parts at the same pitch or at the octave.
  4. a sounding together in octaves, especially of male and female voices or of higher and lower instruments of the same class.
  5. a process in which all elements behave in the same way at the same time; simultaneous or synchronous parallel action:

    to march in unison.



unison

1

/ ˈjuːnɪsən; -zən /

noun

  1. music
    1. the interval between two sounds of identical pitch
    2. modifier played or sung at the same pitch

      unison singing

  2. complete agreement; harmony (esp in the phrase in unison )


UNISON

2

/ ˈjuːnɪsən /

noun

  1. (in Britain) a trade union representing local government, health care, and other workers: formed in 1993 by the amalgamation of COHSE, NALGO, and NUPE

unison

  1. Playing or singing the same musical notes, or notes separated from each other by one or several octaves . Musicians who perform in unison are not playing or singing chords .


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Derived Forms

  • uˈnisonous, adjective

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Other Words From

  • non·uni·son noun

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Word History and Origins

Origin of unison1

1565–75; < Medieval Latin ūnisonus of a single sound, equivalent to Latin ūni- uni- + sonus sound

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Word History and Origins

Origin of unison1

C16: from Late Latin ūnisonus, from uni- + sonus sound

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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. in unison, in perfect accord; corresponding exactly:

    My feelings on the subject are in unison with yours.

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Example Sentences

I remember thinking that as we moved him in unison from the stretcher to the OR bed.

From Time

If you’ve ever seen a bowl of fruit going bad in unison as days go by, know that it’s not because your bananas, pears, and apples made a pact to check out at the same time.

They do things like saying words in unison, they put the words into mouths of prestigious individuals.

The seven sailors point their rifles skyward and fire three times in unison, shattering the silence at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

From Time

It swirls into a funnel, then cartwheels to the side, shapeshifting in seemingly effortless unison.

She found a way to make little kitten steps to the microphone in unison with the music.

In a half-circle around a blazing campfire, the women shake rattles in creepy unison.

Billed by the curators as a “dialogue,” the show is ultimately more like two voices communing in completely matched unison.

Pointing to the elevator bank, they say in unison, "Eleventh floor."

We sobbed in unison when Meryl Streep could barely talk about her husband without becoming visibly verklempt and touched.

Alessandro turned a grateful look on Ramona as he translated this speech, so in unison with Indian modes of thought and feeling.

The natural result was that anything further than unison coupling was seldom attempted.

The twain immediately started, and roared in unison with their host most tremendously!

“Out of sight,” comes the general verdict from the crowd, and bang go a dozen beer glasses in unison on the heavy table.

The deep, dull murmurings of the multitude swelled in unison with the sighings of the storm rising upon the somber night.

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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.

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