polyphonic

adjective

variants or polyphonous
Definition of polyphonicnext
as in harmonic

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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 The attempts by the current administration to whitewash or erase certain aspects of American history, especially the horrors of slavery, are powerfully countered by the novel’s investigation of America’s origins and its polyphonic voices. — Time, 12 May 2026 The choral elements on the record shine most vividly on the title track, which features polyphonic swells of voices humming melodies, overtaking the piano, dropping and then rising again. — Hanif Abdurraqib, New Yorker, 6 Feb. 2026 Women who worked in shops sang together in bellowing, polyphonic unison. — Emma Madden, Pitchfork, 21 Dec. 2025 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 See All Example Sentences for polyphonic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for polyphonic
  1. harmonic
  2. homophonic
  3. orchestral
  4. rhythmic
  5. tonal
  6. chordal
  7. songful
  8. lyric
Adjective
  • These filings offer no melodic details, nothing rhythmic, nothing harmonic or structural.
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 6 July 2026
  • The rhythmic pulse of hand clapping, accompanied by the resounding harmonic messages through voice.
    — Ukee Washington, CBS News, 19 June 2026
Definition of harmonic
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
Definition of homophonic
Adjective
  • Deep ocean recordings blend with orchestral timpani, distant explosions, vibrations and the recorded buzzing of bees.
    — Michelle F. Solomon, Miami Herald, 21 July 2026
  • Pursuing themes explored on the 2025 orchestral suite La Belleza, Pimienta’s latest release, Caribenya, turns the page to brazenly direct songwriting.
    — Maria Nenet Barrios, Pitchfork, 21 July 2026
Definition of orchestral
Adjective
  • The microphones pick up the rhythmic thwack of leather on leather as Zizou executes a series of short passes with teammates.
    — Sebastian Smee, The Atlantic, 11 July 2026
  • There is the rhythmic, at times monotonous pattern of the minor-league baseball season.
    — Spencer Nusbaum, New York Times, 10 July 2026
Definition of rhythmic
Adjective
  • This male and female duo navigated the film’s tonal shifts between horror and comedy with ease.
    — William Earl, Variety, 25 July 2026
  • Sure, sometimes the tonal shifts get away from co-showrunners Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers, or their attempts at genre storytelling miss the mark.
    — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 23 July 2026
Definition of tonal
Adjective
  • Probably because at the time many of the time signatures and chordal progressions that Miles used were over the head of a young guitar player still functioning in the blues and folk idioms.
    — Steve Baltin, Los Angeles Times, 25 May 2026
  • 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
Definition of chordal
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
Definition of songful
Adjective
  • Watch a lyric video, assembled from Super 8 footage of Prine on a family vacation in the early 1970s, below.
    — Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 23 July 2026
  • On July 13, Grande all but confirmed their reconciliation in her lyric change.
    — Giovana Gelhoren, InStyle, 16 July 2026
Definition of lyric

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Cite this Entry

“Polyphonic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/polyphonic. Accessed 26 Jul. 2026.

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