Did you know?
Since poly- means "many", polyphonic music has "many voices". In polyphony, each part has its own melody, and they weave together in a web that may become very dense; a famous piece by Thomas Tallis, composed around 1570, has 40 separate voice parts. Polyphony reached its height during the 16th century with Italian madrigals and the sacred music of such composers as Tallis, Palestrina, and Byrd. Usually when we speak of polyphony we're talking about music of Bach's time and earlier; but the principles remain the same today, and songwriters such as the Beatles have sometimes used polyphony as well.
Examples of polyphonic in a Sentence
Literary Hub, 29 May 2026
All operatic singing, especially the polyphonic (multipart) style known as bel canto, requires tremendous breath control and vocal skill.
—René Ostberg, Encyclopedia Britannica, 26 May 2026
The attempts by the current administration to whitewash or erase certain aspects of American history, especially the horrors of slavery, are powerfully countered by the novel’s investigation of America’s origins and its polyphonic voices.
—Time, 12 May 2026
We are left just with voices, and those voices, in the novel’s subtle and canny repetitions, begin to merge with one another, becoming polyphonic.
—Nicholas Dames, The Atlantic, 7 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for polyphonic
Cite this Entry
“Polyphonic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/polyphonic. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
Copy Citation
