crescendo
UK /kɹɪˈʃɛn.dəʊ/ · US /kɹɪˈʃɛn.doʊ/ noun, verb, adverb
Forms crescendos crescendi crescendoes crescendoing crescendoed cres. cresc.
- noun (music) An instruction to play gradually more loudly, denoted by a long, narrow angle with its apex on the left ( < ), by musicians called a hairpin.
- noun (figuratively) A gradual increase of anything, especially to a dramatic climax. “Their fighting rose in a fearsome crescendo.”
- noun (figuratively, nonstandard) The climax of a gradual increase. “Their arguing rose to a fearsome crescendo.”
- verb To increase in intensity; to reach or head for a crescendo. “The band crescendoed and then suddenly went silent.”
- adverb (music) Gradually increasing in force or loudness.
Synonyms
amplification ascension boost gain growth increase loudening spike surge upsurge
Antonyms
Etymology
Borrowed from Italian crescendo, gerund of crescere (“to grow, to increase”).
Webster’s 1913
- adjective 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.
Etymology [It., from crescere to increase. See Crescent.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “crescendo”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details