arioso

noun

ari·o·so | \ ˌär-ē-ˈō-(ˌ)sō ,

-(ˌ)zō \

plural ariosos also ariosi\-(ˌ)sē,

-(ˌ)zē \

Definition of arioso

: a musical passage or composition having a mixture of free recitative and metrical song

Examples of arioso in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But Monteverdi shows uncanny skill at writing extended vocal passages that shift seamlessly between recitative, arioso and aria. — Anthony Tommasini, New York Times, "Review: An Inspiring End to a 6-Month Tour of Monteverdi’s Operas," 22 Oct. 2017 Fischer inhabited her role completely, and the composer wrote long, lyrical arioso for her. — Janelle Gelfand, Cincinnati.com, "Cincinnati Opera makes history with Missy Mazzoli's 'Song from the Uproar'," 19 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'arioso.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about arioso

Dictionary Entries near arioso

Statistics for arioso

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for arioso

The first known use of arioso was in 1820

See more words from the same year

WORD OF THE DAY

lenitive

alleviating pain or harshness

Test Your Vocabulary

Musical Words Quiz

Which word describes a musical performance marked by the absence of instrumental accompaniment?

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ

Word Winder's CrossWinder

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games