1
: a hymn or musical piece at the conclusion of a service or program
Examples of recessional in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Ashlyn Robinette, People.com, 3 Apr. 2025
Astronomers will be able to map the recessional velocities of galaxies to see if there are any irregularities in the Hubble expansion of the universe that could be evidence for a deceleration of expansion.
—Mark Fischetti, Scientific American, 1 Feb. 2024
But for the bounce of a ball that could have been England’s recessional theme Saturday morning in Brisbane, Australia, after the European champions survived Haiti, 1-0, in their Women’s World Cup opener by the margin of a retaken penalty kick.
—John Powers, BostonGlobe.com, 22 July 2023
Our Universe today is expanding at somewhere around 70 km/s/Mpc, which means that for every megaparsec (about 3.26 million light-years) of distance an object is separated from another object, the expanding Universe contributes a redshift that’s equivalent to a recessional motion of 70 km/s.
—Ethan Siegel, Forbes, 25 May 2021
At the end of the ceremony, my longtime client and friend, Common, surprised our guests by performing ‘The Light’ as our recessional song.
—Alexandra MacOn, Vogue, 6 Apr. 2022
Bookended by a processional and recessional based on a Gregorian chant, the work includes eight carols — with texts from a collection of mostly medieval poetry — and a harp interlude.
—Tim Diovanni, Dallas News, 23 Dec. 2020
Such conditions inevitably produce a recognition of the limits of gradualism among conservatives fed up with years of rearguard compromise who desire a proactive rather than an essentially defensive and recessional policy program.
—A. Wess Mitchell, National Review, 2 Apr. 2020
These are used to measure the distances to hundreds of farther-away supernovas, whose recessional speed divided by their distance gives the Hubble constant.
—Quanta Magazine, 26 Feb. 2020
Elise Taylor, Vogue, 24 Oct. 2024
Students were still advised to maintain social distance before the recessional began.
—Steve Sadin, Chicago Tribune, 20 May 2022
The festivities kicked off with an outdoor cocktail hour, and guests walked over immediately after the recessional.
—Alexandra MacOn, Vogue, 14 Feb. 2022
As a surprise to guests, the couple hired the band Hudson Horns to play for their recessional.
—New York Times, 12 Mar. 2021
In about 10 seconds, the same newlyweds will teleport back to square one and start the recessional all over again.
—Laurence Scott, Wired, 2 Mar. 2020
Wolf said he is committed to student expression and cited Glendale High recently adding a recessional to its ceremony that allows the senior class to select one or two songs that represent the graduating group.
—Andrew J. Campa, Glendale News-Press, 23 July 2019
Their recessional was the throne-room theme from A New Hope.
—Rob Ledonne, Billboard, 25 May 2018
With regard to the American 21st century, Gaddis’s favorite novelists and philosophers perhaps argue against both optional intercessions abroad and moralistic lead-from-behind recessionals.
—Victor Davis Hanson, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2018
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Adjective
To pay homage to Chernoff's Irish roots, bagpiper Robert Wood led the recessional and grand exit from the church.
—Ashlyn Robinette, People.com, 3 Apr. 2025
Astronomers will be able to map the recessional velocities of galaxies to see if there are any irregularities in the Hubble expansion of the universe that could be evidence for a deceleration of expansion.
—Mark Fischetti, Scientific American, 1 Feb. 2024
But for the bounce of a ball that could have been England’s recessional theme Saturday morning in Brisbane, Australia, after the European champions survived Haiti, 1-0, in their Women’s World Cup opener by the margin of a retaken penalty kick.
—John Powers, BostonGlobe.com, 22 July 2023
Our Universe today is expanding at somewhere around 70 km/s/Mpc, which means that for every megaparsec (about 3.26 million light-years) of distance an object is separated from another object, the expanding Universe contributes a redshift that’s equivalent to a recessional motion of 70 km/s.
—Ethan Siegel, Forbes, 25 May 2021
At the end of the ceremony, my longtime client and friend, Common, surprised our guests by performing ‘The Light’ as our recessional song.
—Alexandra MacOn, Vogue, 6 Apr. 2022
Bookended by a processional and recessional based on a Gregorian chant, the work includes eight carols — with texts from a collection of mostly medieval poetry — and a harp interlude.
—Tim Diovanni, Dallas News, 23 Dec. 2020
Such conditions inevitably produce a recognition of the limits of gradualism among conservatives fed up with years of rearguard compromise who desire a proactive rather than an essentially defensive and recessional policy program.
—A. Wess Mitchell, National Review, 2 Apr. 2020
These are used to measure the distances to hundreds of farther-away supernovas, whose recessional speed divided by their distance gives the Hubble constant.
—Quanta Magazine, 26 Feb. 2020
Noun
At the end of the ceremony, Paris and Théo performed a galliard—a dance from the Renaissance era—as their recessional.
—Elise Taylor, Vogue, 24 Oct. 2024
Students were still advised to maintain social distance before the recessional began.
—Steve Sadin, Chicago Tribune, 20 May 2022
The festivities kicked off with an outdoor cocktail hour, and guests walked over immediately after the recessional.
—Alexandra MacOn, Vogue, 14 Feb. 2022
As a surprise to guests, the couple hired the band Hudson Horns to play for their recessional.
—New York Times, 12 Mar. 2021
In about 10 seconds, the same newlyweds will teleport back to square one and start the recessional all over again.
—Laurence Scott, Wired, 2 Mar. 2020
Wolf said he is committed to student expression and cited Glendale High recently adding a recessional to its ceremony that allows the senior class to select one or two songs that represent the graduating group.
—Andrew J. Campa, Glendale News-Press, 23 July 2019
Their recessional was the throne-room theme from A New Hope.
—Rob Ledonne, Billboard, 25 May 2018
With regard to the American 21st century, Gaddis’s favorite novelists and philosophers perhaps argue against both optional intercessions abroad and moralistic lead-from-behind recessionals.
—Victor Davis Hanson, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2018
Cite this Entry
“Recessional.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/recessional. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.
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