ritardando
1 of 2adverb or adjective
ri·tar·dan·do
ri-ˌtär-ˈdän-(ˌ)dō 
ˌrē-
: with a gradual slackening in tempo
—used as a direction in music
Examples of ritardando in a Sentence
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Alex Ross, New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2026
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Noun
Williams knows how to humanize this bare-bones vocabulary, minutely adjusting the voicing of a chord or caressing the last of a set of recurring motifs with a regretful ritardando.
—Alex Ross, New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ritardando.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ritardando. Accessed 9 Feb. 2026.
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