Word.ws English Dictionary

decrescendo

/ˌdiːkɹɪˈʃɛndəʊ/

decrescendo noun: an instruction to play gradually more softly.

decrescendo: an instruction to play gradually more softly
Image: Ricordisamoa, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

decrescendo (plural decrescendos or decrescendi)

  1. An instruction to play gradually more softly.
  2. A gradual decrease in volume or loudness of a piece of music.
    • The peace was ended by the sound of an approaching train, the steady exhaust beat that has its own appeal, and amid a cloud of steam a rebuilt "Scot" burst from under the bridge at the south end of the station, and roared past at high speed. A long line of lighted windows flashed past, and then, in...1954 January, H. P. White, “Vignettes of the Rail”, in Railway Magazine, page 53

Verb

decrescendo (third-person singular simple present decrescendos, present participle decrescendoing, simple past and past participle decrescendoed)

  1. To gradually become quieter

Adjective

decrescendo (comparative more decrescendo, superlative most decrescendo)

  1. becoming quieter gradually.
    Synonyms:
    diminuendo

decrescendo meaning in Tamil

decrescendo in Tamil

ஒடுங்கு வீச்சு

Synonyms of decrescendo

Antonyms

Forms of decrescendo

Noun
pluraldecrescendos
pluraldecrescendi
Verb
third-person singular presentdecrescendos
present participledecrescendoing
past participledecrescendoed
pastdecrescendoed
Adjective
comparativemore decrescendo
superlativemost decrescendo

Origin of decrescendo

Borrowed from Italian decrescendo.

Questions about decrescendo

What does decrescendo mean?
Decrescendo means an instruction to play gradually more softly.
What is decrescendo in Tamil?
Decrescendo in Tamil is ஒடுங்கு வீச்சு. See Decrescendo meaning in Tamil.
What part of speech is decrescendo?
Decrescendo can be a noun, a verb or an adjective.
How do you pronounce decrescendo?
Decrescendo is pronounced /ˌdiːkɹɪˈʃɛndəʊ/.
What is the plural of decrescendo?
The plural of decrescendo is decrescendos.

Words near decrescendo in the dictionary

  1. decrepity
  2. decresc
  3. decresc.
  4. decrescence
  5. decrescendi
  6. decrescendo
  7. decrescendoed
  8. decrescendoing
  9. decrescendos
  10. decrescent
  11. decrescents

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: decrescendo (page history and authors); decrescendo (Tamil Wiktionary) (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.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-decrescendo.wav.

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