rallentando

[ rah-luhn-tahn-doh; Italian rahl-len-tahn-daw ]

adjective

1. slackening; becoming slower (used as a musical direction).

rallentando

/ ˌrælɛnˈtændəʊ /

adjective

1. music becoming slower rall Alsoritardandoritenuto

Word History and Origins

Origin of rallentando¹

1805–15; < Italian, gerund of rallentare to slow down; lento

Word History and Origins

Origin of rallentando¹

C19: Italian, from rallentare to slow down

Example Sentences

So I ran to the music, and, sure enough, that’s exactly what C.P.E. was asking for — no diminuendo, no rallentando, nothing.

From New York Times

But now the professional frustrations of midlife, mixed with the rallentando of getting on in years, contributed to an overwhelming sense of decline and failure.

From The Guardian

His tendency to insert a long silence before the final chord, at the end of a mannered rallentando, was the only interpretive tic that wearied.

From Washington Post

Finally, after publication on 10 April 1925, the fate of the novel and the novelist's own creative rallentando fuse into the Gatsby myth.

From The Guardian

The spirit of Clive James was as undimmed, and as witty as ever, but his tempo was rallentando, not rubato, conducted in a minor key of reflective and poignant sweetness.

From The Guardian