pianissimo

• POS: Adjective, Adverb
• HYPHEN: pi=a=nis=si=mo

CIDE DICTIONARY

pianissimo, a. [It., superl. of piano.].

 Very soft; -- a direction to execute a passage as softly as possible. (Abbrev. pp.)  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

pianissimo, adj., adv., & n. Mus.
--adj. performed very softly.
--adv. very softly.
--n. (pl. -os or pianissimi) a passage to be performed very softly.

Etymology

It., superl. of PIANO(2)

THESAURUS

pianissimo

a cappella, a la sourdine, abbandono, accrescendo, adagietto, adagio, affettuoso, agilmente, agitato, allegretto, allegro, amabile, amoroso, andante, andantino, appassionatamente, appassionato, barely audible, brillante, capriccioso, con affetto, con agilita, con agitazione, con amore, crescendo, decrescendo, dim, diminuendo, dimly, distant, dolce, faint, faint-voiced, faintly, feeble, feebly, forte, fortissimo, gentle, gently, half-heard, hushedly, indistinct, lamentabile, larghetto, larghissimo, largo, legato, leggiero, low, marcando, morendo, murmured, parlando, piano, pizzicato, prestissimo, presto, rallentando, ritardando, ritenuto, scarcely heard, scherzando, scherzo, scherzoso, soft, soft-sounding, soft-voiced, softly, sordamente, sordo, sotto voce, spiccato, staccato, stretto, subaudible, subdued, subduedly, tremolando, tremoloso, trillando, unclear, weak, weak-voiced, weakly, whispered

ROGET THESAURUS

pianissimo

Faintness

N faintness, faint sound, whisper, breath, undertone, underbreath, murmur, hum, susurration, tinkle, still small voice, hoarseness, raucity, inaudible, scarcely audible, just audible, low, dull, stifled, muffled, hoarse, husky, gentle, soft, faint, floating, purling, flowing, whispered, liquid, soothing, dulcet, susurrant, susurrous, in a whisper, with bated breath, sotto voce, between the teeth, aside, piano, pianissimo, d la sourdine, out of earshot inaudibly, (ii) SPECIFIC SOUNDS.