Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adverb & adjective With a sudden increase of emphasis. Used chiefly as a direction.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • In music, with special or increased emphasis: usually applied to a single phrase or voice-part which is to be made specially prominent. Abbreviated rinf., rf., and rfz.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective (Mus.) Increasing; strengthening; -- a direction indicating a sudden increase of force (abbreviated rf., rfz.) Cf. forzando, and sforzando.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Italian, present participle of rinforzare, to reinforce, strengthen : ri-, again (from Latin re-; see re–) + inforzare, to enforce, make strong (from Old French enforcier; see enforce).]

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Examples

  • The rumbling was mingled with a subterranean roar, which formed a sort of rinforzando, and died slowly away, as if some violent storm had passed through the profundities of the globe.

    The Mysterious Island 2005

  • The rumbling was mingled with a subterranean roar, which formed a sort of rinforzando, and died slowly away, as if some violent storm had passed through the profundities of the globe.

    The Mysterious Island 2005

  • The difference between _sforzando_, _rinforzando_, and

    Music Notation and Terminology Karl Wilson Gehrkens 1928

  • Send me tidings of yourself from Vienna (if not sooner), and, whatever rinforzando of "murrendo" may happen, please don't do a wrong to the sentiments of sincere esteem and cordial friendship invariably maintained towards you by

    Letters Liszt, Franz 1893

  • The rumbling was mingled with a subterranean roar, which formed a sort of _rinforzando_, and died slowly away, as if some violent storm had passed through the profundities of the globe.

    The Secret of the Island Jules Verne 1866

  • _crescendo_ should now be noted: _sforzando_ indicates that a single tone or chord is to be louder; _rinforzando_, that an entire passage is to be louder, beginning with its first tone; but _crescendo_ indicates that there is to be a gradual increase in power, this increase sometimes occurring during the sounding of a single tone, but more often in a passage.

    Music Notation and Terminology Karl Wilson Gehrkens 1928

  • The words _rinforzando_ and _rinforzato_ (abb. -- _rinf. _ and _rfz.

    Music Notation and Terminology Karl Wilson Gehrkens 1928

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