polyphonic

[ pol-ee-fon-ik ]

adjective

1. consisting of many voices or sounds.
2. Music.
   1. having two or more voices or parts, each with an independent melody, but all harmonizing; contrapuntal ( homophonic ).
   2. pertaining to music of this kind.
   3. capable of producing more than one tone at a time, as an organ or a harp.
3. Phonetics. having more than one phonetic value, as the letter s, that is voiced (z) in nose and unvoiced (s) in salt.

polyphonic

/ ˌpɒlɪˈfɒnɪk /

adjective

1. music composed of relatively independent melodic lines or parts; contrapuntal
2. many-voiced
3. phonetics of, relating to, or denoting a polyphone

Derived Forms

• ˌpolyˈphonically, adverb

Other Words From

• poly·phoni·cal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of polyphonic¹

First recorded in 1775–85; polyphone + -ic

Example Sentences

The son of a concert pianist, he described his novels as polyphonic symphonies, works that mixed various tones and styles — fable, essay, autobiographical reflection — to explore the nature of identity or mortality.

From Seattle Times

Its sensibility was shaped by a CD Mattingly grew up with that featured the Tahitian Choir: “this glorious, polyphonic, joyous sound,” he said, “that’s moving around itself and congealing and drifting apart.”

From New York Times

If you listen to the scene in its original language, it's a polyphonic effect.

From Salon

The walls of the shelter, like those of the Gothic cathedral before it, reverberated with polyphonic music from a world beyond pain: not sacred, not quite, but certainly exalted.

From New York Times

But we also read on captivated by the novel’s beautiful prose and polyphonic voices, and marveling at both its epic scope and rare intimacy.

From Washington Post