as in pinnacle
the highest part or point
excitement in the auditorium slowly built up and reached its crescendo when the star walked on stage
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to peak
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of crescendo
Aj Willingham, AJC.com, 17 Apr. 2026
Cronin’s threshold for disgusting developments will challenge audiences who are easily shocked, but his skill at whipping up a crescendo of horrors helps distract from a plot with too little connective thread between the big showstoppers.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 16 Apr. 2026
As Dog Day Afternoon reaches its crescendo, the audience feels more and more of an outside presence — where the crowds and police officers loudly congregate — while the action is contained inside the bank.
—Devon Ivie, Vulture, 14 Apr. 2026
Carey often slowly brings songs to a crescendo and then proceeds to play around or against them with all his strength.
—Mitch Therieau, Pitchfork, 8 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for crescendo
Noun
With the greatest opening day crowd in the history of Atlanta and the Southern league cheering in a mad, thunderous crescendo, the Atlanta Crackers reached something approaching an apogee of playing perfection yesterday to turn back the Knoxville Smokies, 9 to 0.
—Aj Willingham, AJC.com, 17 Apr. 2026
Cronin’s threshold for disgusting developments will challenge audiences who are easily shocked, but his skill at whipping up a crescendo of horrors helps distract from a plot with too little connective thread between the big showstoppers.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 16 Apr. 2026
As Dog Day Afternoon reaches its crescendo, the audience feels more and more of an outside presence — where the crowds and police officers loudly congregate — while the action is contained inside the bank.
—Devon Ivie, Vulture, 14 Apr. 2026
Carey often slowly brings songs to a crescendo and then proceeds to play around or against them with all his strength.
—Mitch Therieau, Pitchfork, 8 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for crescendo
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crescendo
Noun
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This year is your turn to socialize and enjoy life, because your creativity and zest are at a pinnacle!—
Georgia Nicols,
Denver Post,
16 Apr. 2026
-
Therefore, it’s taken some time to infiltrate the mainstream, and 2026 is reaching pinnacle ballet flat supremacy.—
Kaitlyn Yarborough,
Southern Living,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The tornado had peak winds of around 130 mph, the NWS said.—
Natalie McMillan,
CBS News,
20 Apr. 2026
-
The Lyrid meteor shower is active between April 16 and April 25 and will peak in the predawn hours on April 22.—
Daisy Dobrijevic,
Space.com,
17 Apr. 2026
Noun
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At that time, McCann’s crypto firm was at the zenith of its success.—
Jack Kubinec,
Fortune,
16 Apr. 2026
-
Although the company would continue with NASA afterward, the zenith was reached on July 20, 1969, when Apollo 11 landed on the moon.—
Paul Edward Parker,
USA Today,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The group represents the formal culmination of a dispute three years in the making.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
21 Apr. 2026
-
The memoiristic project reaches a kind of culmination in Blue Heron, which is not a documentary — but is still firmly rooted in Romvari’s own past, and specifically the reverberations of her troubled eldest brother’s sudden death.—
David Canfield,
HollywoodReporter,
21 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Use a bag bungee Trying to balance a travel tote on top of a rolling suitcase is a disaster waiting to happen, especially when navigating crowded terminals.—
Samantha Leal,
Travel + Leisure,
18 Apr. 2026
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This used to be Syed Murtaza Sadar’s home in Kabul, on top of the barber shop and public bath that was his family’s business.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
18 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that the 250-foot height will honor America's 250 years of existence.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 Apr. 2026
-
Due to building restrictions, the team stuck with the original footprint but were able to extend the height 15 feet, making way for more gracious guest rooms.—
Hannah Martin,
Architectural Digest,
16 Apr. 2026
Noun
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His favorite Harry Potter film of all time is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, a fitting choice given the emotional climax of the series.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
PEOPLE,
19 Apr. 2026
-
The attack occurred moments before she was slated to walk down the aisle to wed her childhood sweetheart — the climax of a revenge attack amid an ongoing feud.—
Louis Casiano,
FOXNews.com,
17 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Allvin, a career amateur scout, has put in the travel and the hours to scout the apex of the 2026 draft class.—
Thomas Drance,
New York Times,
15 Apr. 2026
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Great white sharks were seen as apex predators, so many people struggled to see them as prey for orcas.—
Michael H Gavshon,
CBS News,
12 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Crescendo.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crescendo. Accessed 23 Apr. 2026.
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