plural arias also arie
ˈär-ē-ˌā 
1
2
: a striking solo performance (as in a movie)
… Russell Crowe's performance in Gladiator was all about the physical stuff—it was a brute-force aria of fighting and flexing and unleashing hell …—
Jeff Gordinier
Jeff Gordinier3
: a written or spoken passage or text likened to a dramatic or emotional operatic solo
… a plainspoken but moving aria on the joys of rural living …—Lauren Collins
Lauren CollinsExamples of aria in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
There is nothing unusual about hearing an aria in your car and passing a building from another era.
—Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2024
As performers overhead enveloped the audience in arias, Sbrana felt like the Hulk was pulling on the tendons in the right side of her neck.
—Isabella Cueto, STAT, 21 Feb. 2024
Unable to restrain himself, Sherman launched into an aria on the dangers of one-party rule, the importance of the Truther brigades in securing First Amendment rights to protest, and the threat Castro’s fourth term in office had represented to the republic.
—Elliot Ackerman, WIRED, 6 Feb. 2024
Along the way, Schubert’s music — arias and lieder, and other excerpts — is strung together with slight alterations, particularly in the arrangements by Robert Percival that, while occasionally anachronistic, maintain the show’s dramatic heft and a sense of consistency.
—Joshua Barone, New York Times, 15 Feb. 2024
Dawson received early training in classical voice, including operatic arias, which nurtured her interest in the field.
—Michael J. Solender, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Feb. 2024
Projections will create the sleek and elegant world of the wealthy nobleman and the singers may possibly move off the stage and into the auditorium to deliver some verses from their arias.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Jan. 2024
Eventually, Don Giovanni is forced to pay for his exploits in dramatic fashion, but not before some of the most famous arias, duets and ensembles in the opera canon are performed.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Jan. 2024
Opera on Tap Event at Wonderland Ballroom Opera on Tap spreads the gospel of opera by taking the music out of stuffy black-tie concert halls and into more humble surroundings, where listeners can focus on the emotion and beauty of the arias without getting lost in costumes and staging.
—Chris Kelly, Washington Post, 28 Dec. 2023
Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2024
As performers overhead enveloped the audience in arias, Sbrana felt like the Hulk was pulling on the tendons in the right side of her neck.
—Isabella Cueto, STAT, 21 Feb. 2024
Unable to restrain himself, Sherman launched into an aria on the dangers of one-party rule, the importance of the Truther brigades in securing First Amendment rights to protest, and the threat Castro’s fourth term in office had represented to the republic.
—Elliot Ackerman, WIRED, 6 Feb. 2024
Along the way, Schubert’s music — arias and lieder, and other excerpts — is strung together with slight alterations, particularly in the arrangements by Robert Percival that, while occasionally anachronistic, maintain the show’s dramatic heft and a sense of consistency.
—Joshua Barone, New York Times, 15 Feb. 2024
Dawson received early training in classical voice, including operatic arias, which nurtured her interest in the field.
—Michael J. Solender, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Feb. 2024
Projections will create the sleek and elegant world of the wealthy nobleman and the singers may possibly move off the stage and into the auditorium to deliver some verses from their arias.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Jan. 2024
Eventually, Don Giovanni is forced to pay for his exploits in dramatic fashion, but not before some of the most famous arias, duets and ensembles in the opera canon are performed.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Jan. 2024
Opera on Tap Event at Wonderland Ballroom Opera on Tap spreads the gospel of opera by taking the music out of stuffy black-tie concert halls and into more humble surroundings, where listeners can focus on the emotion and beauty of the arias without getting lost in costumes and staging.
—Chris Kelly, Washington Post, 28 Dec. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'aria.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Aria.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aria. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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aria
noun
: a song in an opera sung by a single voice
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