phrasing

Noun

phrasing (plural phrasings)

1. The way a statement is put together, particularly in matters of style and word choice.
   • But for the Sir Walter disease, the character of the Southerner -- or Southron, according to Sir Walter's starchier way of phrasing it -- would be wholly modern, in place of modern and medieval mixed, and the South would be fully a generation further advanced than it is.1870, Mark Twain, chapter 46, in Life on the Mississippi, archived from the original on 11 Aug 2014

   Synonyms:

   wording, wordage, talk, terminology, verbiage

2. The way the musical phrases are put together in a composition or in its interpretation, with changes in tempo, volume, or emphasizing one or more instruments over others.
   • I found myself truly moved by a stage event for the first time in years. I found myself humming tunes that one might not rightfully call tunes. Days later, I still remember these musical phrasings in little swatches of sound.1977 August 13, Jim Marko, “Swados' Rare and Moving Nightclub Cantata”, in Gay Community News, volume 5, number 6, page 11