diminuendo

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di·min·u·en·do

(dĭ-mĭn′yo͞o-ĕn′dō)

n.adv. & adj. Abbr. dim. or dimin. Music

Decrescendo.

[Italian, present participle of diminuire, to diminish, from Latin dīminuere; see diminish.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

diminuendo

(dɪˌmɪnjʊˈɛndəʊ) music

n, pl -dos

(Classical Music)

a. a gradual decrease in loudness or the musical direction indicating this. Abbreviation: dim or ≻ (written over the music affected)

b. a musical passage affected by a diminuendo

adj

1. (Classical Music) gradually decreasing in loudness

2. (Classical Music) with a diminuendo

Also: decrescendo

[C18: from Italian, from diminuire to diminish]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

di•min•u•en•do

(dɪˌmɪn yuˈɛn doʊ)

adj., adv., n., pl. -does. Music. adj., adv.

1. decrescendo.

2. a decrescendo.

Symbol:>

[1765–75; < Italian, present participle of diminuire; see diminish]

diminuendo

getting softer

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	diminuendo - (music) a gradual decrease in loudness decrescendo softness - a sound property that is free from loudness or stridency; "and in softness almost beyond hearing" music - an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner
Adj.	1.	diminuendo - gradually decreasing in volume decrescendo decreasing - music

Translations

diminuendo

[dɪˌmɪnjʊˈendəʊ]

A. N (Mus) → diminuendo m

B. VI → hacer un diminuendo

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

diminuendo

adv → diminuendo

n → Diminuendo nt

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

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References in classic literature ?

An appalling splash within two yards of him was followed by a loud, rushing sound, DIMINUENDO, which seemed to travel back through the air to the fort and died in an explosion which stirred the very river to its deeps!

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A diminuendo of the shuffling steps; then a cursing, frightened savage at one end of the rhododendrons, and we two stealing out at the other, hand in hand, and bent quite double, into the long neglected grass.

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The song of the oyster, though not silenced, was diminuendo con amore .

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"The other alternative," said the Earl, "would be a diminuendo series of repetitions of the same type.

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Then the stunning diminuendo leading into the explosive conclusion to the whole movement.

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"O soave fanciulla" was tenderly sung with Lee, the voices in balance for the diminuendo as they left the stage at the end of Act I.

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Unlike any other book in my literary collection, "Does Capitalism Have a Future" successfully produces a holistic approach to understand the economic, social, political, cultural and historical implications of capitalism's crescendo and diminuendo, with sudden staccatos of historical exceptions that create a second layer of complexity to the issue presented.

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