sostenuto

noun

plural sostenutos
: a movement or passage whose notes are markedly prolonged

Examples of sostenuto in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
As the twinkling, sostenuto piano of Daniel Blumberg’s score plays in the background, and slats of dappled light illuminate the elegant chair at the center of the space, the sleek cupboards Tóth has designed open up like the petals of a flower, revealing the minimal shelving underneath. Liam Hess, Vogue, 24 Jan. 2025 After that movement’s abrupt end, bassoonist Andrew Brady begins the more somber Andante sostenuto movement. Sheila Regan, Twin Cities, 12 Jan. 2024 Two introspective movements by Charles-Marie Widor (the Adagio from the Fifth Symphony and the Andante sostenuto from the Symphonie gothique) framed the dramatic opening movement of Louis Vierne’s Second Symphony. Dallas News, 21 Feb. 2022

Word History

First Known Use

1757, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of sostenuto was in 1757

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Cite this Entry

“Sostenuto.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sostenuto. Accessed 10 Jun. 2026.

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