harmonic

adjective

har·mon·ic | \ här-ˈmä-nik

Definition of harmonic

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : musical

2 : of or relating to musical harmony or a harmonic

3 : pleasing to the ear : harmonious

4 : of an integrated nature : congruous

harmonic

noun

Definition of harmonic (Entry 2 of 2)

1a : 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

Other Words from harmonic Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences Learn More about harmonic

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Examples of harmonic in a Sentence

Adjective

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

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

Much like one of his primary mentors, tenor sax master George Coleman, the 50-year-old New Yorker combines extraordinary fluency at every tempo with a clear, rounded tone and an expansive harmonic palette. — Andrew Gilbert, The Mercury News, "Sax man Eric Alexander brings his gorgeous tones to SF Bay Area shows," 18 June 2019 The harmonic language of this 1998 work is uncompromisingly dissonant, orchestrated with bracing, powerful sonorities. — Christian Hertzog, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Steven Schick amazes in Roberto Sierra's exuberant percussion concerto," 14 Jan. 2018 Thus, the harmonic and rhythmic weight is carried equally by both musicians, lending this music rare balance. — Larry Blumenfeld, WSJ, "‘Duologue’ by Alfredo Rodriguez and Pedrito Martinez Review: Channeling Cross-Cultural Passions," 26 Jan. 2019 Besides using a tuner, a quick way to check intonation is to play a note on the 12th fret and then play the same harmonic on the 12th fret by lightly depressing your finger on the middle of the fret and letting the note ring out. — Henry Robertson, Popular Mechanics, "How to Set Up a Guitar And Make It Your Own," 7 Dec. 2018 Spruce is a stiff, light-weight, bright sounding wood with complex harmonic overtones and robust sound projection. — Henry Robertson, Popular Mechanics, "Fender's 'Acoustasonic' Is a True Acoustic-Electric Hybrid Guitar," 22 Jan. 2019 The fretted note should be the same pitch as the harmonic. — Henry Robertson, Popular Mechanics, "How to Set Up a Guitar And Make It Your Own," 7 Dec. 2018 At the other end is an actuator arm that's connected to a harmonic drive. — Eric Bangeman, Ars Technica, "Variable-compression engine meets crossover: Infiniti QX50 review," 8 Nov. 2018 The Amp’s signal to noise ratio is 116dB with under 0.1 percent total harmonic distortion. — Chris Welch, The Verge, "The new Sonos Amp is coming to save your old speakers," 29 Aug. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Successive bright bands at regular intervals above the fundamental represent the harmonics of the speech. — Jeff Kao And Jack Gillum, ProPublica, "Methodology: How We Tested an Aggression Detection Algorithm," 25 June 2019 Those tiny loops of string whose harmonics were thought to breathe form into every particle and force known to nature (including elusive gravity) hardly even appear anymore on chalkboards at conferences. — Quanta Magazine, "The Strange Second Life of String Theory," 15 Sep. 2016 The fundamental frequency and harmonics are far less well defined, which indicates audio distortion and a much rougher tone to the sound. — Jeff Kao And Jack Gillum, ProPublica, "Methodology: How We Tested an Aggression Detection Algorithm," 25 June 2019 The exhaust soundtrack has been engineered to have the bass-heavy harmonics that buyers reportedly associate with grand tourers. — Mike Duff, Car and Driver, "The 2020 McLaren GT Is a Mid-Engined Supercar Built for Luxurious Grand Touring," 15 May 2019 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

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.