crescendo
noun · adverb · verb
Simple meaning
A gradual increase in loudness.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
krihshehndohSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
kɹɪˈʃɛndoʊ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
music
A gradual increase in loudness
“The orchestra built a slow crescendo that filled the concert hall.”
figuratively
A gradual increase of anything, especially to a dramatic climax.
adverb
music
Gradually increasing in force or loudness.
verb
To increase in intensity; to reach or head for a crescendo.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient
- Frequency
- Rare
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A gradual increase in loudness
Used this way, crescendo is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a musical use: it is everyday language among musicians and listeners, and specialised outside that.
“The orchestra built a slow crescendo that filled the concert hall.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where it naturally appears
- Music/performance
- Arts writing
Usage note
It most often appears in the pattern “crescendo that …”, which is worth copying when you use it.
Natural pattern: crescendo that …
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Antonyms
Sense: gradual increase in loudness
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.