Word.ws English Dictionary

contralto

/kɒnˈtɹæltəʊ/

contralto noun: the lowest female voice or voice part, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. The terms contralto and alto refer to the same musical pitch range, but among singers, the term contralto is reserved for female singers; the equivalent male form is counter-tenor. Originally the contratenor altus was a high countermelody sung against the tenor or main melody.

Noun

contralto (plural contraltos or contralti)

  1. The lowest female voice or voice part, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. The terms contralto and alto refer to the same musical pitch range, but among singers, the term contralto is reserved for female singers; the equivalent male form is counter-tenor. Originally the contratenor altus was a high countermelody sung against the tenor or main melody.
    • As for her dress, it was invariably rich, effective, and chic, yet in good taste. Lastly, her feet and hands were astonishing, and her voice a deep contralto.1867, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, chapter III, in The Gambler, translated by C. J. Hogarth^(https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Gambler_(1867)/III)
    • Out in the yard a womanʼs hoarse contralto intoned a hymn.1952, Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man, Penguin Books (2014), page 68
    Synonyms:
    alto

contralto meaning in Vietnamese

contralto in Vietnamese

the lowest female voice
giọng nữ trầm

Synonyms of contralto

Forms of contralto

pluralcontraltos
pluralcontralti

Origin of contralto

Contraction of contratenor alto, from Latin contratenor altus.

Words that rhyme with contralto

Questions about contralto

What does contralto mean?
Contralto means the lowest female voice or voice part, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. The terms contralto and alto refer to the same musical pitch range, but among singers, the term contralto is reserved for female singers; the equivalent male form is counter-tenor. Originally the contratenor altus was a high countermelody sung against the tenor or main melody.
What is contralto in Vietnamese?
Contralto in Vietnamese is giọng nữ trầm. See Contralto meaning in Vietnamese.
What part of speech is contralto?
Contralto is a noun.
How do you pronounce contralto?
Contralto is pronounced /kɒnˈtɹæltəʊ/.
What is the plural of contralto?
The plural of contralto is contraltos.

Words near contralto in the dictionary

  1. contralaterally
  2. contralaterals
  3. contralesional
  4. contralesionally
  5. contralti
  6. contralto
  7. contraltos
  8. contrametric
  9. contramodule
  10. contramodules
  11. contranarian

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: contralto (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “contralto.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/contralto. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.