as in chants
a vocal or instrumental performance that is given outdoors at night for a lover
wooed his lady with a serenade
Related Words
Relevance
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 serenades
Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 14 May 2026
Clips from the Pitt-Stanford game spread rapidly on Bluesky, where multiple users captured separate free-throw serenades and posted them individually.
—Ryan Brennan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Mar. 2026
Across from the San Francisco Giants’ home base of Oracle Park, the audience swayed to British singer-songwriter Oliva Dean’s R&B-infused serenades at The One Party by Uber at Pier 48.
—Jim Harrington, Mercury News, 7 Feb. 2026
Noun
Scrolling SoundCloud the other week, I was reminded of the Blackberry arguments, email apologies, and voicemail serenades of the Heartbreak Drake era.
—Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 14 May 2026
Clips from the Pitt-Stanford game spread rapidly on Bluesky, where multiple users captured separate free-throw serenades and posted them individually.
—Ryan Brennan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Mar. 2026
Across from the San Francisco Giants’ home base of Oracle Park, the audience swayed to British singer-songwriter Oliva Dean’s R&B-infused serenades at The One Party by Uber at Pier 48.
—Jim Harrington, Mercury News, 7 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for serenades
Noun
-
For the album, Simon enlisted John Forté, who died earlier this year, as well as Simon's son Ben, who appears on the project as a singer, musician, producer, and songwriter, in addition to her daughter Sally, who contributes vocals and created the cover artwork for the single.—
Ilana Kaplan,
PEOPLE,
11 June 2026
-
Impressive also is the score from Tony Lewis and folk singer Jim Ghedi, including the uniquely haunting vocals from the latter.—
Pete Hammond,
Deadline,
11 June 2026
Verb
-
Richard Marx croons his way onto Billboard’s jazz charts for the first time in a career as a lead recording artist that dates back almost 40 years.—
Gary Trust,
Billboard,
26 Jan. 2026
-
Murray — beloved for iconic roles in Groundhog Day, Ghostbusters, Caddyshack and other films — croons spirited renditions of timeless songs, from Bob Dylan to the Kinks to Tommy Tutone.—
Travis Pinson,
Dallas Morning News,
15 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
What to do after writing some of this century’s most devastating songs about the torment of breaking up?—
Mikael Wood,
Los Angeles Times,
12 June 2026
-
She’s beloved as evidenced by her fans recreating her songs on TikTok.—
Angela Velasquez,
Footwear News,
11 June 2026
Verb
-
Musselwhite punctuated the music with his harmonica trills and moans while his right knee bounced in time with the rhythms.—
Kevin McKeough,
Chicago Tribune,
7 June 2026
-
Is that panic, when the flute trills high?—
Linnie Greene,
Pitchfork,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Traditionally played on string instruments like the dulcimer, fiddle, and banjo, this distinctly twangy genre passed down religious hymns, ballads, and folktales through generations.—
Hillary Richard,
Travel + Leisure,
10 June 2026
-
But please, lots of rousing hymns.—
Janine Henni,
PEOPLE,
10 June 2026
Verb
-
To prevent its data centers from overheating, SpaceX plans to adopt liquid cooling, but not the kind that hums inside your desktop PC.—
Michael Kan,
PC Magazine,
9 June 2026
-
Cobbled together as a mixtape from a collection of leaks—allegedly because Veeze was holding onto a payload of Carti tracks—the tape hums along with a looseness that could only come from not being edited to death.—
Matthew Ritchie,
Pitchfork,
2 June 2026
Noun
-
Violinist Warren Ellis played an equally soulful solo during a break from the lyrics.—
Kory Grow,
Rolling Stone,
11 June 2026
-
For Corinne Bailey Rae, lyrics and melodies can reveal new possibilities.—
Christopher A. Daniel,
AJC.com,
11 June 2026
Verb
-
An a-ha moment arrives quietly, but meaningfully, as the moon harmonizes with Chiron.—
USA TODAY,
USA Today,
6 June 2026
-
Mary Ramsey harmonizes with Merchant on the final chorus and the music at last winds down; the summer day draws to a close; the memory ends.—
Dan Kois,
Pitchfork,
17 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Serenades.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/serenades. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
