Meaning & use
Pesante
Last updated
A musical direction indicating that a passage should be played heavily or with weighty, deliberate emphasis.
See it in a sentence
The conductor marked the final movement pesante to bring out its somber weight.
The pianist played the chords pesante, giving the passage a ponderous, solemn feel.
A note on using this word
Borrowed from Italian, where it literally means 'heavy'; it is one of many Italian expression markings used internationally in written music.
Words with a similar meaning
heavyweighty
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
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