harmonic

adjective har·mon·ic \ här-ˈmä-nik \

|Updated on: 17 Jun 2018

Examples: harmonic in a Sentence

Definition of harmonic

1 : musical

2 : of or relating to musical harmony or a harmonic

3 : pleasing to the ear : harmonious

4 : of an integrated nature : congruous

—

harmonically

play \här-ˈmä-ni-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

See harmonic defined for English-language learners

See harmonic defined for kids

Examples of harmonic in a Sentence

the desire to live the kind of harmonic life in which work and family are perfectly balanced

Recent Examples of harmonic from the Web

Thomas, who pared the opera to just under two hours, is using Mussorgsky’s original 1869 orchestration, whose fresh harmonic language particularly influenced Debussy.

— jesse hamlin, San Francisco Chronicle, "SF Symphony brings ‘Boris Godunov’ to concert stage," 12 June 2018
But holding an audience’s interest without harmonic backing is no small feat for a saxophonist.

— bill beuttler, BostonGlobe.com, "Passion and poetry from saxophonist JD Allen," 3 June 2018
The structural and harmonic rigor of Bach is alien to Balter’s unsettled sound world.

— john von rhein, chicagotribune.com, "Bella Voce looks back on its storied past, Bach Week projects spirit of its namesake forward," 29 Apr. 2018
Even more beguiling is Harris’s use of enharmonic tones — exploiting how the same pitch can be notated as, say, G-flat or F-sharp, with different harmonic implications for each.

— BostonGlobe.com, "Cantata Singers perform a heavenly masterpiece," 3 May 2018
The audience was completely hushed, awaiting each fiddle line or banjo lick, each unexpected harmonic turn, each precise swell of three-part harmony.

— jon pareles, New York Times, "In Its Own Quiet Way, I’m With Her Is a Supergroup," 13 Mar. 2018
The remaining seven songs on the album are full of droney, harmonic sounds and Paul's abstract vocals.

— anne nickoloff, cleveland.com, "Glass Traps mixes music, art, LeBron James together in debut album," 21 Feb. 2018
The players' fingers never touched the sound fingerboards of their instruments, producing pure harmonic that seemed to set the entire gallery vibrating in some mysteriously shamanistic way.

— mark swed, latimes.com, "Becoming John Luther Adams: The evolution of one of America's hottest composers," 3 May 2018
The dressing does need to bring it all together with harmonic sweetness and acidity.

— bonnie s. benwick, charlotteobserver, "You don’t need romaine lettuce to make a great chopped salad | Charlotte Observer," 1 May 2018

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

First Known Use of harmonic

1570

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

harmonic Synonyms

harmonic

noun

Definition of harmonic

1 a : overtone; especially : one whose vibration frequency is an integral multiple of that of the fundamental

b : a flutelike tone produced on a stringed instrument by touching a vibrating string at a nodal point

2 : a component frequency of a complex wave (as of electromagnetic energy) that is an integral multiple of the fundamental frequency

Recent Examples of harmonic from the Web

High string harmonics reminded me of the relentless sun.

— mark swed, latimes.com, "Becoming John Luther Adams: The evolution of one of America's hottest composers," 3 May 2018
In the piano bell tones where corresponding harmonics are manually played more softly above the fundamental pitch, Angelich’s balance was perfection.

— peter dobrin, Philly.com, "Nicholas Angelich joins Stéphane Denève and Philadelphia Orchestra on musical jaunts," 27 Apr. 2018
Bordreuil’s latest tape with bassist Zach Rowden, Hollow (No Rent), is entirely acoustic, with music that moves from whispery harmonics to viscous, deeply fricative slabs.

— peter margasak, Chicago Reader, "French cellist and sound artist Leila Bordreuil diffuses and distorts bowed lines in her Chicago debut," 8 Mar. 2018
The piece is a technical tour de force for the solo violin, including the slippery sounds of the player slurring through passages of harmonics.

— elaine schmidt, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Program change makes for an effective blend in Milwaukee Symphony performance," 2 Feb. 2018
There's talk of the harmonics of music created between one vibrating celestial body and the next, a school of thought to which Dr. Cervi apparently subscribes.

— david rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Farinelli and the King': Theater Review," 18 Dec. 2017
Over three extended pieces, his striated long tones glisten with sour harmonics, cavernous overtones, and breath surges that make the music expand and contract in visceral waves.

— peter margasak, Chicago Reader, "John McCowen shares his research on the contrabass clarinet with a riveting new solo album," 8 Dec. 2017
Gnashing dissonant chords, insectoid buzzings and furiously scrubbing strings abruptly morph into almost inaudible glissandos played in whistling harmonics.

— john von rhein, chicagotribune.com, "Arditti Quartet launches Ligeti series with wondrous, strange sounds," 21 Oct. 2017
There appear, through some weird alchemy of harmonics, phantom instruments.

— geoff dyer, New York Times, "My Obsession With the Necks, the Greatest Trio on Earth," 4 Oct. 2017

First Known Use of harmonic

1777

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

HARMONIC Defined for English Language Learners

harmonic

adjective

Definition of harmonic for English Language Learners

: of or relating to musical harmony rather than melody or rhythm

Learn More about harmonic

See words that rhyme with harmonic Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for harmonic Spanish Central: Translation of harmonic Nglish: Translation of harmonic for Spanish speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about harmonic

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up harmonic? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show

harmonic

Definition of harmonic

harmonically

Examples of harmonic in a Sentence

Recent Examples of harmonic from the Web

First Known Use of harmonic

harmonic Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Near Antonyms

Related Words

harmonic

Definition of harmonic

Recent Examples of harmonic from the Web

First Known Use of harmonic

HARMONIC Defined for English Language Learners

harmonic

Definition of harmonic for English Language Learners

Learn More about harmonic

Seen and Heard

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games

Trending: 'Asylum' Trends as Policies Draw Attention

'Than': What Follows It and Why

Name More Food!

9 Words for Transnational Currencies

Ghost Word