staccato
adjective
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English has borrowed a number of words from Italian that instruct on how a piece of music should be played. Examples include "allegro" ("at a brisk lively tempo"), "adagio" ("at a slow tempo"), and "fortissimo" ("very loud"). The instruction "staccato" describes music composed of tones that are short and noncontinuous rather than smoothly flowing together (a style noted by the instruction "legato"). Staccato derives from the past participle of the Italian verb staccare, meaning "to detach," and can now describe anything - not just sounds - made, done, or happening in an abrupt or disjointed way.
Examples of staccato in a Sentence
John Burek, PCMAG, 26 Mar. 2024
Where Baraka often employs long, Whitmanesque lines, Harris’s are short and staccato.
—Adam Bradley Tajh Rust, New York Times, 3 Mar. 2023
Gordon’s prose is relatively staccato, with lots of sentence fragments and short paragraphs, and the action moves rapidly, covering the events of just a few days.
—Michael Dirda, Washington Post, 27 Jan. 2023
The song is heavily reminiscent of his uncle's sound, from its staccato Latin beats to Jackson's plaintive vocals.
—Marco Della Cava, USA TODAY, 30 Jan. 2023
The staccato rhythm of Italian laps at our ears like the waves of the Mediterranean.
—Jessica Puckett, Condé Nast Traveler, 14 July 2022
Words can be interpreted in multiple ways and rap music's staccato verbal acrobatics lend themselves naturally to a form of speech that invites political and social commentary, experts say.
—Desiree Adib, ABC News, 16 Dec. 2022
Wachtel, who played the simple-staccato groove on the song’s original recording, stretched out for bluesy licks, before the whole band returned to lock in.
—Matt Wake | Mwake@al.com, al, 1 Nov. 2022
The strings roared through bellicose staccato passages in perfect synchrony, and the brass brought a great strength to tempestuous, martial gestures.
—Luke Schulze, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Nov. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'staccato.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Staccato.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/staccato. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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staccato
adjective
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