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plural crescendos or crescendi or crescendoes
(music) An instruction to play gradually more loudly, denoted by a long, narrow angle with its apex on the left ( < ), by musicians called a hairpin. examples
(figuratively) A gradual increase of anything, especially to a dramatic climax. examples
(figuratively, nonstandard) The climax of a gradual increase. quotations
With the Stoke supporters jeering Ziv's every subsequent touch, the pantomime atmosphere created by the home crowd reached a crescendo when Ziv was shown a straight red shortly after the break in extraordinary circumstances.
2011 October 20, Michael da Silva, “Stoke 3 - 0 Macc Tel-Aviv”, in BBC Sport
third-person singular simple present crescendoes, present participle crescendoing, simple past and past participle crescendoed
To increase in intensity; to reach or head for a crescendo. quotations examples
And similarly, they are full of tricks: when the imagined stranger calls your name, the music crescendos romantically; when the video freezes on your laugh, it immediately desaturates the candid photo, making you look old-timey or famous or dead.
2021 November 1, Haley Nahman, “I got a camera to spy on my cat – and it made me question everything about myself”, in The Guardian
not comparable
(music) Gradually increasing in force or loudness. examples