agitato

American

[aj-i-tah-toh, ah-jee-tah-taw] / ˌædʒ ɪˈtɑ toʊ, ˌɑ dʒiˈtɑ tɔ /

adjective

Music.

agitated; restless or hurried in movement or style.

agitato British

/ ˌædʒɪˈtɑːtəʊ /

adjective

music (to be performed) in an agitated manner

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of agitato

1885–90; < Italian < Latin agitātus. See agitate

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Moments later, as he keeled over while Charlotte's daughter sails through the presto agitato section of Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata," I resented being proven correct.

From Salon • Dec. 15, 2021

If agitato is crude then Apple needs to reconsider the catalogue on the iTunes Store.

From The Guardian • Jun. 6, 2016

Case in point: The first single, “Heartbeat Song,” doesn’t get engaging just by making it high tempo, a modern allegro agitato.

From Washington Times • Mar. 5, 2015

Les Troyens' music is at once delicately concentrated and surcharged with an agitato inner flame.

From Time Magazine Archive

Pretty soon, there are clomps of people in all the lanes and in the parco, and they are growing more agitato, waving their arms and stompling their feets.

From "The Unfinished Angel" by Sharon Creech

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023