CONTRALTO (contralti)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected form: contralti   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does contralto mean? 

• CONTRALTO (noun)
  The noun CONTRALTO has 2 senses:

1. a woman singer having a contralto voice

2. the lowest female singing voice

  Familiarity information: CONTRALTO used as a noun is rare.

• CONTRALTO (adjective)
  The adjective CONTRALTO has 1 sense:

1. of or being the lowest female voice

  Familiarity information: CONTRALTO used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CONTRALTO (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A woman singer having a contralto voice

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("contralto" is a kind of...):

singer; vocaliser; vocalist; vocalizer (a person who sings)

Instance hyponyms:

Anderson; Marian Anderson (United States contralto noted for her performance of spirituals (1902-1993))

Ernestine Schumann-Heink; Schumann-Heink (United States operatic contralto (1861-1936))

Sense 2

Meaning:

The lowest female singing voice

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

alto; contralto

Hypernyms ("contralto" is a kind of...):

singing voice (the musical quality of the voice while singing)

• CONTRALTO (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Of or being the lowest female voice

Synonyms:

alto; contralto

Similar:

low; low-pitched (used of sounds and voices; low in pitch or frequency)

 Context examples 

When the melody rose, her voice broke up sweetly, following it, in a way contralto voices have, and each change tipped out a little of her warm human magic upon the air.

(The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald)

A celebrated tenor had sung in Italian and a notorious contralto had sung in jazz and between the numbers people were doing stunts all over the garden, while happy vacuous bursts of laughter rose toward the summer sky.

(The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald)