CADENCE • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Cadence

Add this Dictionary
to your website!
See more options...

/kˈeɪdəns/ Listen

noun

Cadence n.

1.

The act or state of declining or sinking. (Obs.) "Now was the sun in western cadence low."

2.

A fall of the voice in reading or speaking, especially at the end of a sentence.

3.

A rhythmical modulation of the voice or of any sound; as, music of bells in cadence sweet. "Blustering winds, which all night long Had roused the sea, now with hoarse cadence lull Seafaring men o'erwatched." "The accents... were in passion's tenderest cadence."

4.

Rhythmical flow of language, in prose or verse. "Golden cadence of poesy." "If in any composition much attention was paid to the flow of the rhythm, it was said (at least in the 14th and 15th centuries) to be "prosed in faire cadence.""

5.

(Her.) See Cadency.

6.

(Man.) Harmony and proportion in motions, as of a well-managed horse.

7.

(Mil.) A uniform time and place in marching.

8.

(Mus.)

(a)

The close or fall of a strain; the point of rest, commonly reached by the immediate succession of the tonic to the dominant chord.

(b)

A cadenza, or closing embellishment; a pause before the end of a strain, which the performer may fill with a flight of fancy.

Imperfect cadence. (Mus.) See under Imperfect.

verb

Cadence v. t. To regulate by musical measure. "These parting numbers, cadenced by my grief."

See images of 'Cadence'

Etymology of 'Cadence'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

Share |

Add this dictionary
to your browser search bar

"Cadence" Quotes from Famous Books

... us change! The days are long With labors hard that make us weary, And o'er the gladness of each song There floats a cadence somewhat dreary; We'd like to loaf awhile, for—say— Some five or ten sweet years, or twenty, And chase the dull cares all away; God give us change and give us plenty! God give us change! The dull days flow With quietude that palls a little; Just anything to make it go ...

— Oklahoma Sunshine • Freeman E. (Freeman Edwin) Miller

... was placed in position, the machinery of the mill was set in motion, and the circular saw began to eat its way through the log, with a loud whirr which resounded throughout the vicinity of the mill. The sound rose and fell in a sort of rhythmic cadence, which, heard from where we sat, was not unpleasing, and not loud enough to prevent conversation. When the saw started on its second journey through the log, Julius observed, in a lugubrious tone, and with ...

— The Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, 1995, Memorial Issue • Various

... HARRIS. 'I think Heroick poetry is best in blank verse; yet it appears that rhyme is essential to English poetry, from our deficiency in metrical quantities. In my opinion, the chief excellence of our language is numerous prose.' JOHNSON. 'Sir William Temple was the first writer who gave cadence to English prose. Before his time they were careless of arrangement, and did not mind whether a sentence ended with an important word or an insignificant word, or with what part of speech it ...

— Life of Johnson - Abridged and Edited, with an Introduction by Charles Grosvenor Osgood • James Boswell

... Linda had often heard her groan, but had never known her to groan as she groaned now. It was very deep and very low, and prolonged with a cadence that caused Linda to tremble in every limb. And Linda understood it thoroughly. It was as though her aunt had been told by an angel that Satan was coming to her house in person that day. And Linda did that which the reader also should do. She gave to ...

— Linda Tressel • Anthony Trollope

... then, child, and well worth waiting for;" and, with outstretched arm marking the cadence of its rhythm, he read aloud from a book of old poems. "There's poetry for you, girl! There's a description of Nature! Where will you find such real poetry amongst modern bards? No, no! the bards are ...

— By Berwen Banks • Allen Raine

Copyright © 2025 Dictionary One.com