crescendo C2 Topic:Music Theory US /kɹɪˈʃɛn.doʊ/ UK /kɹɪˈʃɛn.dəʊ/ See IPA manual Freq #33804 Meanings 1 noun a gradual increase in loudness, in music The sonata ended with a fantastic crescendo. 2 verb to grow louder The music crescendoes here. 3 noun A gradual increase of anything, especially to a dramatic climax. Their fighting rose in a fearsome crescendo. 4 noun The climax of a gradual increase. Their arguing rose to a fearsome crescendo. Verb forms Verb forms are not available for this word yet. Thesaurus Synonyms amplificationascensionboostgaingrowthincreaseloudeningspikesurgeupsurge ↔ Opposites climaxconclusiondecreasedecrescendodiminuendofall Etymology Borrowed from Italian crescendo, gerund of crescere (“to grow, to increase”). Topics Music Theory General Vocabulary External links Google Images Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary # crescendo **Type:** Word **Level:** C2 **Part of speech:** noun, verb **IPA (US):** /kɹɪˈʃɛn.doʊ/ **IPA (UK):** /kɹɪˈʃɛn.dəʊ/ **Frequency rank:** 33804 ## Meanings 1. a gradual increase in loudness, in music 2. to grow louder 3. A gradual increase of anything, especially to a dramatic climax. 4. The climax of a gradual increase. ## Examples - The sonata ended with a fantastic crescendo. - The music crescendoes here. - Their fighting rose in a fearsome crescendo. - Their arguing rose to a fearsome crescendo. ## Synonyms - amplification - ascension - boost - gain - growth - increase - loudening - spike - surge - upsurge ## Antonyms - climax - conclusion - decrease - decrescendo - diminuendo - fall ## Etymology Borrowed from Italian crescendo, gerund of crescere (“to grow, to increase”). ## Topics - Music Theory - General Vocabulary markdown