falsetto
1 of 2noun
fal·set·to fȯl-ˈse-(ˌ)tō 
plural falsettos
1
: an artificially high voice
especially : an artificially produced singing voice that overlaps and extends above the range of the full voice especially of a tenor
2
: a singer who uses falsetto
falsetto
2 of 2adverb
: in falsetto
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web
Leah Greenblatt, EW.com, 26 Aug. 2022 Whether through alchemy or algorithm, Glass Animals seem to have cracked the pop code, their modest beats, humble pop hooks and singer Dave Bayley’s falsetto slowly but steadily conquering the charts. Althea Legaspi, Rolling Stone, 30 July 2022 The band’s three-part harmonies — featuring bassist Cameron Duddy on high falsetto and guitarist Jess Carson singing between Duddy and Wystrach — are a key feature in its sound, but Zoom’s time lag doesn’t facilitate that kind of interaction. Tom Roland, Billboard, 19 July 2022 William Hart continued to tour using the Delfonics name, his falsetto a bit weaker but his presence still commanding. Clay Risen, BostonGlobe.com, 21 July 2022 For nearly three decades, Brian McKnight has been serenading swooning women with lush ballads and an impeccable falsetto. Rodney Ho, ajc, 11 July 2022 Women slipped arms round each other’s waists and swayed to the trembling falsetto. Okwiri Oduor, Harper’s Magazine , 22 June 2022 But the song’s subdued verses properly explode into a mighty chorus as W.K. taps into his falsetto against a wall of guitars. Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 7 Sep. 2021 Under its glitzy guitars and Casablancas’ falsetto, the song warns of climate change’s impending destruction. Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 18 June 2022 John Adamian, courant.com, 18 June 2018 Across those three tracks, Timberlake fashioned a new sound with the Neptunes, the production duo of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, shedding his pop-singer sheen for dirty drums, falsetto vocal runs, and, notably, guitar. Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2018 Fats Domino announced himself with this single: a two-fisted boogie-woogie piano intro with tremolo flourishes, verses that establish his 200-pound physique and his New Orleans locale and a falsetto vocal like a trumpet solo. Jon Pareles, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2017 See More
Noun
Rhodes' impression is serviceable and surface, approximating the boxer's falsetto without remotely nailing his teddy-bear-cannibal magnetism. Leah Greenblatt, EW.com, 26 Aug. 2022 Whether through alchemy or algorithm, Glass Animals seem to have cracked the pop code, their modest beats, humble pop hooks and singer Dave Bayley’s falsetto slowly but steadily conquering the charts. Althea Legaspi, Rolling Stone, 30 July 2022 The band’s three-part harmonies — featuring bassist Cameron Duddy on high falsetto and guitarist Jess Carson singing between Duddy and Wystrach — are a key feature in its sound, but Zoom’s time lag doesn’t facilitate that kind of interaction. Tom Roland, Billboard, 19 July 2022 William Hart continued to tour using the Delfonics name, his falsetto a bit weaker but his presence still commanding. Clay Risen, BostonGlobe.com, 21 July 2022 For nearly three decades, Brian McKnight has been serenading swooning women with lush ballads and an impeccable falsetto. Rodney Ho, ajc, 11 July 2022 Women slipped arms round each other’s waists and swayed to the trembling falsetto. Okwiri Oduor, Harper’s Magazine , 22 June 2022 But the song’s subdued verses properly explode into a mighty chorus as W.K. taps into his falsetto against a wall of guitars. Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 7 Sep. 2021 Under its glitzy guitars and Casablancas’ falsetto, the song warns of climate change’s impending destruction. Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 18 June 2022 Adverb
The Neighbourhood The Neighbourhood knows how to pair a high-flying falsetto vocal with a gut-rumbling low-end synth line. John Adamian, courant.com, 18 June 2018 Across those three tracks, Timberlake fashioned a new sound with the Neptunes, the production duo of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, shedding his pop-singer sheen for dirty drums, falsetto vocal runs, and, notably, guitar. Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2018 Fats Domino announced himself with this single: a two-fisted boogie-woogie piano intro with tremolo flourishes, verses that establish his 200-pound physique and his New Orleans locale and a falsetto vocal like a trumpet solo. Jon Pareles, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2017 See More Word History
Etymology
Noun
Italian, from diminutive of falso false, from Latin falsus
First Known Use
Noun
1721, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Adverb
1940, in the meaning defined above