cadenza
ca·den·za/kəˈdɛnzə/noun, verb
cadenza is spelled C-A-D-E-N-Z-A: 7 letters and 3 syllables (ca·den·za). It appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 86,301st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, cadenza means “A part of a piece of music, such as a concerto, that is very decorative and is played by a single musician” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of cadenza is cadenzas or cadenze.
How many letters and syllables are in cadenza?
| Letters | 7: C-A-D-E-N-Z-A |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: ca·den·za |
| In writing | about once in every 8 million words; the 86,301st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is cadenza?
Cadenza appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 86,301st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce cadenza?
- /kəˈdɛnzə/
- [kʰəˈdɛnzə]
- /kəˈdɪnzə/
Cadenza has 3 syllables, split ca·den·za in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-cadenza.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of cadenza
- cadenzas plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- cadenze plural
- cadenzaing participle, present
- cadenzaed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does cadenza mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A part of a piece of music, such as a concerto, that is very decorative and is played by a single musician.
verb
- 1
slangTo become agitated or excited.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Cadenza in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense decorative solo piece of music:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does cadenza come from?
Borrowed from Italian cadenza, from Latin cadentia. Doublet of cadence and chance.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).