polyphonic

variants or polyphonous
Definition of polyphonicnext

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of polyphonic Zivix reports that its algorithms can register complex playing techniques like polyphonic bends, slides, hammer-ons and pull-offs, tapping and muting. New Atlas, 21 Aug. 2025 Byrd is the word: Revel in the polyphonic glories of William Byrd, perhaps the greatest and certainly most influential of all the English Renaissance composers, in a setting that surely would have felt home to him, as a composer of sacred songs. Randy McMullen, Mercury News, 17 July 2025 The end result is a polyphonic spree of subcontinental flavors. Jordan Michelman, Bon Appetit Magazine, 4 July 2025 Your music is a fusion of avant-garde pop, electronics, and polyphonic folk. Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019 See All Example Sentences for polyphonic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for polyphonic
Adjective
  • Sustained support from the strings gives way to watery ripples and busy chatters, with piquant harmonic implications.
    Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News, 23 Jan. 2026
  • According to the announcement, over 14 weeks, students will explore the harmonic language, melodic design, rhythmic vocabulary, lyrical construction, production principles, and signature devices that define Max Martin’s chart-topping catalog.
    Jem Aswad, Variety, 20 Jan. 2026
Adjective
  • My introduction to homophonic translation came from my former teacher, Mónica de la Torre.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 9 Jan. 2026
  • How does this make any sense except as a very stupid, clumsy, idiotic no good way to give us a homophonic bridge to Gandalf.
    Erik Kain, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2024
Adjective
  • They’re set to soaring orchestral scores.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 29 Jan. 2026
  • Its insistent guitar chug harks back to the indie rock of Bury Me at Makeout Creek, but the song doesn’t stay there for long, melting into a foreboding orchestral swell and chorus of wordless voices.
    Marissa Lorusso, Pitchfork, 16 Jan. 2026
Adjective
  • According to the announcement, over 14 weeks, students will explore the harmonic language, melodic design, rhythmic vocabulary, lyrical construction, production principles, and signature devices that define Max Martin’s chart-topping catalog.
    Jem Aswad, Variety, 20 Jan. 2026
  • That includes a complete suite of Art of Cryo technology, from infrared and cryotherapy machines to a Flow System, a touchless technology that uses rhythmic positive and negative air pressure to stimulate circulation and accelerate recovery.
    Jackie Caradonio, Travel + Leisure, 19 Jan. 2026
Adjective
  • Described as more of a tonal companion to The Worm than a direct continuation, The Answerers is equal parts existential thriller and absurdist comedy, exploring belief, delusion and the human need for meaning in an increasingly turbulent modern world.
    Glenn Garner, Deadline, 30 Jan. 2026
  • Her sweatshirt was perfectly complemented by a tonal pearl necklace and glowy makeup.
    Cheryl Wagemann, InStyle, 29 Jan. 2026
Adjective
  • Hudson buttressed Al Kooper’s original organ part into a chordal fortress, part of an incendiary performance that surges to peak after peak.
    Jon Pareles, New York Times, 24 Jan. 2025
  • The Italian Jewish composer Salamone Rossi set Psalm 112 in Hebrew, in mainly chordal antiphony.
    Scott Cantrell, Dallas News, 2 Mar. 2020
Adjective
  • Bach was lively, supple, and, especially in the Larghetto, generous in its songful musicality.
    Jeremy Eichler, BostonGlobe.com, 23 Sep. 2022
  • In the early going, some tender yet mystic motifs suggest the songful chromaticism of Olivier Messiaen.
    Seth Colter Walls, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2022
Adjective
  • Levinson has cited David Wojnarowicz’s haunted, unflinching writing on the AIDS crisis as an influence, and the lyric sheet is littered with pets and prayers and names of friends, giving their music the feeling of a community being preserved in song.
    Sam Sodomsky, Pitchfork, 7 Jan. 2026
  • Apple Music uploaded Dolby Atmos versions of Reputation on the streaming platform, and many eagle-eyed Swifties had noticed that there were two lyric changes on the song list.
    Lea Veloso, StyleCaster, 12 Dec. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Polyphonic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/polyphonic. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.

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