Adjacent Words

Musical definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

MU'SICAL, a. Belonging to music; as musical proportion; a musical instrument.
1. Producing music or agreeable sounds; as a musical voice.
2. Melodious; harmonious; pleasing to the ear; as musical sounds or numbers.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: characterized by or capable of producing music; "a musical evening"; "musical instruments"
2: talented in or devoted to music; "comes from a very musical family" [ant: nonmusical, unmusical]
3: characteristic of or resembling or accompanied by music; "a musical speaking voice"; "a musical comedy" [ant: nonmusical, unmusical]
4: containing or constituting or characterized by pleasing melody; "the melodious song of a meadowlark" [syn: melodious, melodic, musical] [ant: unmelodic, unmelodious, unmusical] n
1: a play or film whose action and dialogue is interspersed with singing and dancing [syn: musical, musical comedy, musical theater]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Medieval Latin musicalis, from musica Date: 15th century 1. a. of or relating to music b. having the pleasing harmonious qualities of music ; melodious 2. having an interest in or talent for music 3. set to or accompanied by music 4. of or relating to musicians or music lovers • musically adverb II. noun Date: 1823 1. archaic musicale 2. a film or theatrical production typically of a sentimental or humorous nature that consists of musical numbers and dialogue based on a unifying plot

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & n. --adj. 1 of or relating to music. 2 (of sounds, a voice, etc.) melodious, harmonious. 3 fond of or skilled in music (the musical one of the family). 4 set to or accompanied by music. --n. a musical film or comedy. Phrases and idioms: musical box Brit. a mechanical instrument playing a tune by causing a toothed cylinder to strike a comblike metal plate within a box. musical bumps a game similar to musical chairs, with players sitting on the floor and the one left standing eliminated. musical chairs 1 a party game in which the players compete in successive rounds for a decreasing number of chairs. 2 a series of changes or political manoeuvring etc. after the manner of the game. musical comedy a light dramatic entertainment of songs, dialogue, and dancing, connected by a slender plot. musical film a film in which music is an important feature. musical glasses an instrument in which notes are produced by rubbing graduated glass bowls or tubes. musical saw a bent saw played with a violin bow. Derivatives: musicality n. musicalize v.tr. (also -ise). musically adv. musicalness n. Etymology: ME f. OF f. med.L musicalis f. L musica: see MUSIC

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Musical Mu"sic*al, a. [Cf. F. musical.] Of or pertaining to music; having the qualities of music; or the power of producing music; devoted to music; melodious; harmonious; as, musical proportion; a musical voice; musical instruments; a musical sentence; musical persons. Musical, or Music, box, a box or case containing apparatus moved by clockwork so as to play certain tunes automatically. Musical fish (Zo["o]l.), any fish which utters sounds under water, as the drumfish, grunt, gizzard shad, etc. Musical glasses, glass goblets or bowls so tuned and arranged that when struck, or rubbed, they produce musical notes. CF. Harmonica, 1.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Musical Mu"sic*al, a. [Cf. F. musical.] Of or pertaining to music; having the qualities of music; or the power of producing music; devoted to music; melodious; harmonious; as, musical proportion; a musical voice; musical instruments; a musical sentence; musical persons. Musical, or Music, box, a box or case containing apparatus moved by clockwork so as to play certain tunes automatically. Musical fish (Zo["o]l.), any fish which utters sounds under water, as the drumfish, grunt, gizzard shad, etc. Musical glasses, glass goblets or bowls so tuned and arranged that when struck, or rubbed, they produce musical notes. CF. Harmonica, 1.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Musical Mu"sic*al, n. 1. Music. [Obs.] To fetch home May with their musical. --Spenser. 2. A social entertainment of which music is the leading feature; a musical party. [Colloq.]

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(musicals) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. You use musical to indicate that something is connected with playing or studying music. We have a wealth of musical talent in this region... Stan Getz's musical career spanned five decades... ADJ: ADJ n • musically Musically there is a lot to enjoy. ADV: ADV with cl/group, ADV after v 2. A musical is a play or film that uses singing and dancing in the story. ...London's smash hit musical Miss Saigon. N-COUNT 3. Someone who is musical has a natural ability and interest in music. I came from a musical family. ADJ 4. Sounds that are musical are light and pleasant to hear. He had a soft, almost musical voice. ADJ

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Melodious, harmonious, tuneful, symphonious, dulcet, sweet-sounding. 2. Melodious, harmonious.

Moby Thesaurus

Broadway musical, Singspiel, Thalia, achingly sweet, agreeable, agreeable-sounding, appealing, ariose, arioso, arlequinade, ballad opera, ballet, ballet divertissement, black comedy, blending, broad comedy, burlesque, burletta, camp, canorous, cantabile, catchy, chiming, chorus show, comedie bouffe, comedie larmoyante, comedie rosse, comedietta, comedy, comedy ballet, comedy of humors, comedy of ideas, comedy of intrigue, comedy of manners, comedy of situation, comedy relief, comic muse, comic opera, comic relief, consonant, dance drama, dark comedy, domestic comedy, dulcet, euphonic, euphonious, euphonous, exode, farce, farce comedy, fine-toned, genteel comedy, golden, golden-tongued, golden-voiced, grand opera, harlequinade, harmonic, harmonious, high camp, honeyed, light comedy, light opera, low camp, low comedy, lyric drama, lyrical, melic, mellifluent, mellifluous, mellisonant, mellow, melodic, melodious, mime, minstrel, minstrel show, music drama, music-flowing, music-like, music-loving, musical comedy, musical stage, musical theater, musically inclined, musicianly, musicophile, opera, opera ballet, opera bouffe, opera buffa, operetta, philharmonic, pleasant, pleasant-sounding, raw comedy, realistic comedy, rich, romantic comedy, satyr play, sentimental comedy, silver-toned, silver-tongued, silver-voiced, silvery, singable, situation comedy, slapstick, slapstick comedy, song-and-dance act, song-play, songful, songlike, sonorous, sweet, sweet-flowing, sweet-sounding, symphonic, symphonious, tragicomedy, tunable, tuned, tuneful, virtuose, virtuosic, virtuoso