as in prelude
a performance, activity, or event that precedes and sets the stage for the main event
the parade down Main Street served as the overture for a weekend of fun and festivities
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Recent Examples of overture
Ross, 85, has rejected overtures from hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin; designated his daughter Jennifer as his successor; and has given a significant non-Dolphins sports management job to son-in-law Dan Sillman, an experienced sports executive who is married to Ross’ daughter, Kim.
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Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 21 Oct. 2025
In a sort of overture to his story of the Grand Inquisitor, Ivan reels off various episodes involving the sufferings of children.
—Karl Ove Knausgaard, New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2025
Wingo did not report how Las Vegas responded to the trade overtures from Dallas.
—Evan Massey, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Oct. 2025
Especially for opera novices, the Prelude Talks can be a great way to get oriented before the overture.
—Zach Wichter, USA Today, 19 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for overture
Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 21 Oct. 2025
In a sort of overture to his story of the Grand Inquisitor, Ivan reels off various episodes involving the sufferings of children.
—Karl Ove Knausgaard, New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2025
Wingo did not report how Las Vegas responded to the trade overtures from Dallas.
—Evan Massey, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Oct. 2025
Especially for opera novices, the Prelude Talks can be a great way to get oriented before the overture.
—Zach Wichter, USA Today, 19 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for overture
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overture
prelude
Noun
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In Danis Tanovic’s underseen drama, Farrell plays an Irish war photographer who gets separated from his best friend and colleague in Iraqi Kurdistan in the prelude to Saddam Hussein’s 1988 extermination campaign against the Kurds.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
30 Oct. 2025
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At first, the scene feels like an engrossing, elevating prelude.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
29 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Overture.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overture. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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