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Meaning of falsetto in English:

falsetto

See synonyms for falsetto

Translate falsetto into Spanish

nounplural noun falsettos

  • 1Music
    A method of voice production used by male singers, especially tenors, to sing notes higher than their normal range.

    ‘he sang in a piercing falsetto’
    • ‘In Cyrus's version, his words are backed up in the chorus and briefly in the third verse by two male voices singing in a falsetto.’
    • ‘Stout and scruffy, the 36-year-old Daniels looks more suited to a football field than La Fenice, but as a countertenor, the highest male voice in opera, he sings in a falsetto.’
    • ‘I found that when I sang falsetto, I could tune my voice more and control it.’
    • ‘There are other songs where I might have written the melody lower but when I tried to sing them and project with any sort of volume, it just didn't work, so I had to go up and octave and sing it in falsetto.’
    • ‘In contrast, the countertenors of the past sang in full voice, resorting to falsetto only at the high range.’
    high voice, high-pitched voice, high-pitched tone, shrill tone, piercing tone, ear-piercing tone
    View synonyms
    1. 1.1A singer using the falsetto method of voice production.
      • ‘One second he's a falsetto, the next he's a baritone.’
    2. 1.2A voice or sound that is unusually high.
      ‘Philip answered in a prim falsetto’
      • ‘a falsetto voice’
      • ‘Marcia tells Marty that she loves his falsetto, and asked why he didn't do more of it.’
      • ‘Smith takes more vocal chances on Hill, giving us his bright falsetto often and almost without apology - almost.’
      • ‘It was the job of the Designated Safety Officer to read us the half-sheet of safety instructions, in his best falsetto, and ensure that we violated none of them.’
      • ‘Then he sprints off again, and is soon delivering spine-tingling power falsettos into his microphone.’
      • ‘He places his melodies near the top of his range to sound more fragile, so the tunes straddle the break between his radiant tenor voice and his falsetto.’
      high voice, high-pitched voice, high-pitched tone, shrill tone, piercing tone, ear-piercing tone
      View synonyms

Pronunciation

falsetto

/fɔːlˈsɛtəʊ/ /fɒlˈsɛtəʊ/

Origin

Late 18th century from Italian, diminutive of falso ‘false’, from Latin falsus (see false).