Dictionary


cre•scen•do



Pronunciation: (kri-shen'dō, -sen'dō; It.kre-shen'dô), [key]
—n., pl. -dos, -diPronunciation: (-dē), [key]
—adj., adv., v.

—n.
1. Music.
a. a gradual, steady increase in loudness or force.
b. a musical passage characterized by such an increase.
c. the performance of a crescendo passage: The crescendo by the violins is too abrupt.
2. a steady increase in force or intensity: The rain fell in a crescendo on the rooftops.
3. the climactic point or moment in such an increase; peak: The authorities finally took action when public outrage reached a crescendo.

—adj., adv.
gradually increasing in force, volume, or loudness (opposed to decrescendo or diminuendo).

—v.i.
to grow in force or loudness.

Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.

Crescascrescent
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