Dictionary

crescendo en · ADV

Pronunciation

• /kɹəˈʃɛn.dəʊ/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (US) audio
• (Australia) audio
• /kɹɪˈʃɛn.doʊ/ (General-American)
• /kɹəˈʃɛn.doʊ/ (General-American)
• /kɹɪˈʃɛn.dəʊ/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian crescendo, gerund of crescere (“to grow, to increase”).

Meanings

1. (not-comparable) Gradually increasing in force or loudness.

Forms

crescendo en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /kɹəˈʃɛn.dəʊ/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (US) audio
• (Australia) audio
• /kɹɪˈʃɛn.doʊ/ (General-American)
• /kɹəˈʃɛn.doʊ/ (General-American)
• /kɹɪˈʃɛn.dəʊ/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian crescendo, gerund of crescere (“to grow, to increase”).

Meanings

1. An instruction to play gradually more loudly, denoted by a long, narrow angle with its apex on the left ( < ), by musicians called a hairpin.
   • As he came into the window / It was the sound of a crescendo 1987, Michael Jackson, “Smooth Criminal”, in Bad:
2. (figuratively) A gradual increase of anything, especially to a dramatic climax.
   • Their fighting rose in a fearsome crescendo.
3. (figuratively, nonstandard) The climax of a gradual increase.
   • Their arguing rose to a fearsome crescendo.
   • With the Stoke supporters jeering Ziv's every subsequent touch, the pantomime atmosphere created by the home crowd reached a crescendo when Ziv was shown a straight red shortly after the break in extraordinary circumstances. 2011 October 20, Michael da Silva, “Stoke 3 - 0 Macc Tel-Aviv”, in BBC Sport:

Forms

Antonyms

diminuendo (antonym(s) of “music”) · decrease · fall · climax (antonym(s) of “the climax of a gradual increase”) · conclusion (antonym(s) of “the climax of a gradual increase”) · decrescendo (antonym(s) of “music”)

Deriveds

Brelian crescendo

Hypernyms

escalation · rise

Meronyms

volume

Synonyms

amplification · increase · loudening · growth · upsurge · gain · spike · ascension · boost · surge

Translations (30)

el κρεσέντο (figuratively: gradual increase) · mk крешендо (music: instruction to play gradually more loudly) · el κρεσέντο (music: instruction to play gradually more loudly) · ru креще́ндо (music: instruction to play gradually more loudly) · pt crescendo (music: instruction to play gradually more loudly) · la crēscēns (figuratively: gradual increase) · ja クレッシェンド (music: instruction to play gradually more loudly) · gl crescendo (music: instruction to play gradually more loudly) · cmn 漸強 /渐强 (music: instruction to play gradually more loudly) · pl crescendo (music: instruction to play gradually more loudly) · fi crescendo (music: instruction to play gradually more loudly) · gl crescendo (figuratively: gradual increase) · it crescendo (music: instruction to play gradually more loudly) · de Crescendo (music: instruction to play gradually more loudly) · sh крешендо (music: instruction to play gradually more loudly) · bg кресчендо (music: instruction to play gradually more loudly) · fi kasvu (figuratively: gradual increase) · sh krešendo (music: instruction to play gradually more loudly) · ja 最高潮 (climax of a gradual increase) · sv crescendo (music: instruction to play gradually more loudly) · la crēscēns (music: instruction to play gradually more loudly) · pl crescendo (figuratively: gradual increase) · fi huippu (climax of a gradual increase) · it crescendo (figuratively: gradual increase) · fr aller crescendo (figuratively: gradual increase) · es crescendo (figuratively: gradual increase) · es crescendo (music: instruction to play gradually more loudly) · ja 高まり (figuratively: gradual increase) · ko 크레셴도 (music: instruction to play gradually more loudly) · cs crescendo (music: instruction to play gradually more loudly)

crescendo en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /kɹəˈʃɛn.dəʊ/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (US) audio
• (Australia) audio
• /kɹɪˈʃɛn.doʊ/ (General-American)
• /kɹəˈʃɛn.doʊ/ (General-American)
• /kɹɪˈʃɛn.dəʊ/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian crescendo, gerund of crescere (“to grow, to increase”).

Meanings

1. To increase in intensity; to reach or head for a crescendo.
   • The band crescendoed and then suddenly went silent.
   • And similarly, they are full of tricks: when the imagined stranger calls your name, the music crescendos romantically; when the video freezes on your laugh, it immediately desaturates the candid photo, making you look old-timey or famous or dead. 2021 November 1, Haley Nahman, “I got a camera to spy on my cat – and it made me question everything about myself”, in The Guardian:

Forms