Definition of "arioso" []

• A style used in opera and oratorio, similar to but more melodic than recitative. (noun)
• A passage rendered in this style. (noun)
• A short vocal solo having the melodic style but not the form of an aria. (noun)
• In a melodic style like that of an aria. Used chiefly as a direction. (adverb)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Her vocal lines are mostly routine arioso, while the ensemble writing is most effective when thinned to a single line?"
• "But the solo writing is mostly in the tedious note-for-syllable arioso style that drags down so many modern operas."
• "The solo sections of these anthems contain arioso writing, with virtuoso decorations to highlight individual words or phrases those composed for the bass John Gostling—such as They that go down to the sea in ships and I will give thanks unto thee, O Lord—are especially spectacular."