Meaning & use
serenade
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To sing or play music for someone, often outdoors, to show love or admiration.
Grammar: Takes an object: he serenaded her.
Patterns
- serenade someone
- serenade someone with something
He serenaded her under the balcony with a guitar.
The band serenaded the newlyweds with their favorite song.
A street musician serenaded the diners as they ate.
nouncountable
A piece of music or a song performed to honor or woo someone, especially in the evening.
Grammar: Countable: sing a serenade.
Patterns
- sing a serenade
- a serenade for someone
The singer performed a gentle serenade beneath her window.
The festival ended with a Mozart serenade.
Friends sang a birthday serenade outside his house.
nouncountablemusic
A light classical composition for a small group of instruments, often in several short movements.
Grammar: A musical form: a serenade for strings.
Patterns
- a serenade for something
The orchestra played Tchaikovsky's serenade for strings.
She studied the serenade as a musical form in class.
A serenade often has more movements than a symphony.
Word forms
| third person singular | serenades |
|---|---|
| past tense | serenaded |
| past participle | serenaded |
| -ing form | serenading |
| plural | serenades |
Common combinations
- serenade someone with a song
- He serenaded his wife with a song on their anniversary.
- sing a serenade
- The students sang a serenade for the teacher.
- serenade under the window
- He tried to serenade her under the window, but it started to rain.
- a romantic serenade
- The violinist offered a romantic serenade to the couple.
- serenaded by birdsong
- We woke serenaded by birdsong.
Synonyms and how they differ
- sing to
- Sing to is the plain everyday phrase, while serenade suggests romance or ceremony.
- woo
- Woo means to try to win someone's love in any way, not only with music.
- croon
- Croon means to sing softly and tenderly, and is about the style rather than the audience.
- entertain
- Entertain is much broader and does not suggest love or an outdoor setting.
Word family
- serenader noun
- a person who serenades
- serenaded verb
- past form of serenade
- serenading verb
- the -ing form
- serenata noun
- an older Italian form of the musical piece
Commonly confused: serenade or serenity? serenade or cascade?
serenade vs serenity
Serenity is a state of calm and peace, while serenade is a piece of music or the act of singing.
serenade vs cascade
Cascade sounds similar but means a small waterfall or a flow of things.
Practice
Under her window, he ____ her with a love song on his guitar.
Choose one answer.
To serenade someone is to sing or play music for them as a romantic gesture. The other verbs describe calming or criticizing.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “serenade”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.