ragtime

rag·time | \ ˈrag-ˌtīm

How to pronounce ragtime (audio)

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Definition of ragtime

1 : rhythm characterized by strong syncopation in the melody with a regularly accented accompaniment in stride-piano style

2 : music having ragtime rhythm

Examples of ragtime in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Growing up in the 1970s, my peers were not buying ragtime hits from the 1920s. — Jon Caldara, The Denver Post, "Caldara: The Beatles top charts again as our greatest (and perhaps only) cultural connector," 4 Nov. 2019 The singing of Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens' music — a period-sounding mix of parlor songs, Jewish folk music and, of course, ragtime — is strong; the acting of Terrence McNally's script is riveting. — Daryl H. Miller, latimes.com, "Review: Small theaters think big with ‘Ragtime’ at the Chance and ‘The Producers’ at Celebration," 11 July 2019 Her fetish for vinyl records ranged from early ragtime blues to rare and obscure rock en español. — Los Angeles Times, "L.A. Affairs: I was into her. But she was into playing games.," 31 Aug. 2019 Performances can include jazz, ragtime, folk, classical or — as happened when a group of visiting Fulbright scholars stumbled in — the Ukrainian national song. — Rebecca Tan, Washington Post, "Their music was ready to spill out. All they needed was a piano.," 27 July 2019 From jazz to bluegrass, country to ragtime, hip-hop to barbershop quartets, the celebration of music as a boundary-breaking, uplifting art was the focus of the street festival. — Denise Coffey, courant.com, "American Music Celebrated At Putnam’s First Friday," 17 June 2019 Gregory Hines won best actor in a musical for playing ragtime and jazz pianist Jelly Roll Morton in Jelly's Last Jam (1992). — Paul Grein, Billboard, "9 Actors Who Have Won Tonys for Portraying Real-Life Music Stars," 9 June 2019 The music of William Bolcom spans quite a range, from rigorous symphonic writing to derivative ragtime-piano noodlings. — Howard Reich, chicagotribune.com, "Grant Park Orchestra review: A fitting 80th birthday tribute to William Bolcom," 7 July 2018 One of his groups, the Society Orchestra, supplied music for the Castles, the husband-and-wife team responsible for popularizing ragtime dances. — John Check, WSJ, "‘Making Music American’ Review: Turning Swords Into Saxophones," 28 Dec. 2018

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

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Dictionary Entries near ragtime

ragtag and bobtail

Statistics for ragtime

Last Updated

21 Nov 2019

Cite this Entry

“Ragtime.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ragtime. Accessed 18 January 2020.

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