fortissimo
1 of 2adverb or adjective
for·tis·si·mo
fȯr-ˈti-sə-ˌmō 
: very loud
—used especially as a direction in music
Examples of fortissimo in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Jane Bua, New Yorker, 5 May 2025
All that urgent energy forcing all that sound through that throat for all those years—fortissimo is his working decibel range—with laryngitis a frequent companion.
—Scott Asen, airmail.news, 30 Nov. 2024
An ensemble has to figure out how to hit that fortissimo and then hold it — convincingly, breathtakingly, without wearing down an audience.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 24 Oct. 2024
Well after other composers were writing quadruple fortes — ffff — Brahms never ventures here beyond a classical fortissimo (ff).
—Dallas News, 8 Oct. 2022
What there were, however, were people clapping between movements of the symphony, and at one point in the first movement at a sudden fortissimo.
—Los Angeles Times, 25 Aug. 2021
In the Allegretto, few conductors can resist unleashing a juggernaut of sound when the processional main theme rises to its climactic fortissimo, but here again Blomstedt held back, making sure that the countermelody in the first violins came through clearly, with its legato all aglow.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 23 Aug. 2021
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Noun
The section started with several bars of cimbalom, in prominent fortissimo.
—Jane Bua, New Yorker, 5 May 2025
All that urgent energy forcing all that sound through that throat for all those years—fortissimo is his working decibel range—with laryngitis a frequent companion.
—Scott Asen, airmail.news, 30 Nov. 2024
An ensemble has to figure out how to hit that fortissimo and then hold it — convincingly, breathtakingly, without wearing down an audience.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 24 Oct. 2024
Well after other composers were writing quadruple fortes — ffff — Brahms never ventures here beyond a classical fortissimo (ff).
—Dallas News, 8 Oct. 2022
What there were, however, were people clapping between movements of the symphony, and at one point in the first movement at a sudden fortissimo.
—Los Angeles Times, 25 Aug. 2021
In the Allegretto, few conductors can resist unleashing a juggernaut of sound when the processional main theme rises to its climactic fortissimo, but here again Blomstedt held back, making sure that the countermelody in the first violins came through clearly, with its legato all aglow.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 23 Aug. 2021
Cite this Entry
“Fortissimo.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fortissimo. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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