breathiness

Noun

breathiness (uncountable)

1. The state or quality of being breathy.
   • The smooth, even surfaces of Mr. Glass’s music expose his weaknesses as a pianist, but the faults added a kind of human breathiness to the piano’s embellished tread (reminiscent of Satie’s “Gymnopédies”) in the concluding piece, “The Orchard.” Ms. Sutter and her borrowed cello sang a little...2007 February 15, Anne Midgette, “A New Work for Cello, Played Upon a Veteran”, in New York Times
   • If you dared, and if you had had any luck doing Princess Leia (Obi-Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope), you might even hazard Jessica Lange ’s tearful vanilla-rose breathiness: I really love you, Dorothy, but I can’t love you.2008 March 2, Virginia Heffernan, “Speak, ‘Tootsie’”, in New York Times
2. The result or product of being breathy.
   • Here standard acoustic instruments are played in ways that suggest electronic sound: violins whir and buzz, woodwinds produce a toneless breathiness and a gentle tapping evokes a heartbeat.2008 May 9, Allan Kozinn, “From Energetic Players, a Mix of Modernism”, in New York Times