polyphonic

adjective

poly·​phon·​ic ˌpä-lē-ˈfä-nik 

variants or polyphonous

pə-ˈli-fə-nəs 

1

: of, relating to, or marked by polyphony

2

: being a polyphone

polyphonically

ˌpä-lē-ˈfä-ni-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

or polyphonously

Did you know?

Since poly- means "many", polyphonic music has "many voices". In polyphony, each part has its own melody, and they weave together in a web that may become very dense; a famous piece by Thomas Tallis, composed around 1570, has 40 separate voice parts. Polyphony reached its height during the 16th century with Italian madrigals and the sacred music of such composers as Tallis, Palestrina, and Byrd. Usually when we speak of polyphony we're talking about music of Bach's time and earlier; but the principles remain the same today, and songwriters such as the Beatles have sometimes used polyphony as well.

Examples of polyphonic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Kosky, more than most directors, is sensitive to its polyphonic structure in his staging, which moves around, repeats and trims material throughout to make the show move briskly and with a light hand, allowing the subtext its slithering grace. —Joshua Barone, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2025

The movie’s polyphonic introduction is also not sustained. —Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 25 Jan. 2025

At its heart is the creation of new vocal datasets, polyphonic AI models capable of blending human and machine voices, pulling audiences into an immersive, participatory experience. —Nargess Banks, Forbes, 1 Jan. 2025

Everything [in Georgia] symbolizes wine—like the architecture of the medieval century, like churches, even Georgian polyphonic singing, which reminds me of the curly vines. —Kurt Johnson, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1776, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing polyphonic

• polyphonic prose

Rhymes for polyphonic

• anharmonic
• anionic
• avionic
• catatonic
• cationic
• chorionic
• cosmogonic
• diachronic
• diatonic
• electronic
• embryonic
• excitonic