Dictionary

unison en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈjunɪzən/
• /ˈjunɪsən/

Etymology

From Middle English unisoun, from Middle French unisson, from Medieval Latin ūnisonus (“having the same sound”), from ūni- + sonus (“sound”).

Meanings

1. (qualifier:acoustics, uncountable, usually) Identical pitch between two notes or sounds; the simultaneous playing of notes of identical pitch (or separated by one or more octaves).
   • The young principal timpanist, Timothy Genis, was superb throughout, though his sidekick timpanist sometimes lagged in the final unisons. 2007 July 16, James R. Oestreich, “With Levine as Tour Guide, a Journey Through Mahler’s Third Symphony”, in New York Times:
   • The unison has a pitch ratio of 1:1.
2. (qualifier:acoustics, uncountable, usually) A sound or note having the same pitch as another, especially when used as the base note for an interval; a unison string.
   • I could not behold him without emotion; when he accosted me, his well-known voice made my heart vibrate, like a musical chord, when its unison is struck. 1751, [Tobias] Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), London: Harrison and Co., […], →OCLC:
3. (uncountable, usually) The state of being in harmony or agreement; harmonious agreement or togetherness, synchronisation.
   • Everyone moved in unison, but the sudden change in weight distribution capsized the boat.
4. (broadly, uncountable, usually) Two or more voices speaking or singing the same words together.

Forms

Deriveds

in unison · unisonous · perfect unison · nonunison · unisonance · augmented unison · unisonal · unisonant

Relateds

unitedness · union · P1 (in music) · unification · unity · unionization

Translations (35)

fr unisson (music: the simultaneous playing of an identical note more than once) · de Einklang (the state of being together, in harmony, at the same time) · pl unisono (the state of being together, in harmony, at the same time) · ga comh-airde (music: the simultaneous playing of an identical note more than once) · ja 和同 (the state of being together, in harmony, at the same time) · cmn 和諧 /和谐 (the state of being together, in harmony, at the same time) · de Unisono (music: the simultaneous playing of an identical note more than once) · it unisono (music: the simultaneous playing of an identical note more than once) · es unísono (the state of being together, in harmony, at the same time) · ja 同音 (music: the simultaneous playing of an identical note more than once) · sv samråd (music: the simultaneous playing of an identical note more than once) · bg съзвучие (music: the simultaneous playing of an identical note more than once) · cmn 齊唱 /齐唱 (music: the simultaneous playing of an identical note more than once) · cmn 齊奏 /齐奏 (music: the simultaneous playing of an identical note more than once) · bg съгласие (the state of being together, in harmony, at the same time) · de Eintracht (the state of being together, in harmony, at the same time) · ga aontacht (music: the simultaneous playing of an identical note more than once) · sh prima (music: the simultaneous playing of an identical note more than once) · de Gleichklang (the state of being together, in harmony, at the same time) · ro unison (music: the simultaneous playing of an identical note more than once) · ja ユニゾン (music: the simultaneous playing of an identical note more than once) · ru унисо́н (music: the simultaneous playing of an identical note more than once) · ru согла́сие (the state of being together, in harmony, at the same time) · cmn 同音 (music: the simultaneous playing of an identical note more than once) · ja 斉唱 (music: the simultaneous playing of an identical note more than once) · bg хармония (the state of being together, in harmony, at the same time) · ja 一致 (the state of being together, in harmony, at the same time) · ja 斉奏 (music: the simultaneous playing of an identical note more than once) · pl unisono (music: the simultaneous playing of an identical note more than once) · cmn 一致 (the state of being together, in harmony, at the same time) · ga aoncheol (music: the simultaneous playing of an identical note more than once) · de Einklang (music: the simultaneous playing of an identical note more than once) · ga comhréir (the state of being together, in harmony, at the same time) · ro primă (music: the simultaneous playing of an identical note more than once) · af unisoon (music: the simultaneous playing of an identical note more than once)