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musical

musical

206 3.0
A play or film with singing and dancing
  • noun
  • /ˈmjuːzɪkəl/
translation icon : musical
  • Did you see the new musical that just opened on Broadway? It features amazing songs and choreography.
  • Broadway musicals
  • a movie musical
  • plays and musicals

So would you like musicals or comic villains?

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Examples

Synonyms

musical theater
vsmusical
  • US
19 3.2

A stage show that tells a story using songs, talking, acting, and dance

includes both stage shows and films where singing and dancing are prominent
musical comedy
vsmusical
7 3.0

A play or film with songs, dancing, and a light funny story

focuses on singing and dancing without requiring a comic or light tone
song and dance
vsmusical
2 3.5

A performance with singing and dancing on stage

covers plays or films where singing and dancing are prominent parts

Compounds

A thing like a piano or guitar that you play to make music

19 3.2

A stage show that tells a story using songs, talking, acting, and dance

A play or film with songs, dancing, and a light funny story

musical score
  • Specialized
5 3.7

Written music that shows all the parts for singers and instruments on separate lines

A way of making music with its own sounds and rules

A live show where musicians play music for an audience

People who play music together for a crowd

musical note
  • Specialized
3 3.0

A sign on written music that shows how high and how long a sound is

A type of music that has a certain style, like rock or jazz

A game where players walk around chairs and sit when the music stops

A piece of music written by a composer

musical chairs
  • Informal
2 4.5

Frequent moving of people between jobs with no real change

Music that plays quietly with a singer or main tune to support it

musical notation
  • Specialized
1 4.2

Symbols on paper or screen that show how to play music

musical phrase
  • Specialized
1 3.4

A short group of notes that sounds complete in a piece of music

musical scale
  • Specialized
1 3.2

A set of notes ordered from low to high that form a basic pattern for melodies

musical theme
  • Specialized
1 3.4

The main tune that represents a person or idea in a piece of music

A version of a song changed for certain voices or instruments

A type of opera where music and story are equally important and the music follows the action

The skill of remembering and recognizing tunes and musical sounds

1 7.5

An evening gathering where people listen to live music in a home or small room

6.4

An advanced university degree for people who perform, write, or conduct music

A device that makes musical sounds using electricity, like a synthesizer or keyboard

A small box that plays a tune when you wind it

musical octave
  • Specialized
3.6

The gap between two notes where the higher sounds like the same note at a higher pitch

A group of musicians who play or sing together

musical passage
  • Specialized
3.7

A short part of a piece of music with its own sound or idea

musical perception
  • Specialized
5.3

The ability to hear and understand musical sounds like pitch and rhythm

musical harmony
  • Specialized
3.7

A way of putting notes together so they sound pleasant

A way for electronic instruments and computers to send musical data to each other

musical interval
  • Specialized
4.8

The difference in how high or low two notes are in music

musical mode
  • Specialized
7.4

A pattern of eight notes that gives a piece of Western music its typical sound

musical rhythm
  • Specialized
3.2

A regular pattern of beats in a song or dance that gives music its timing

musical time
  • Specialized
3.7

A steady beat musicians follow to keep notes and players together

4.2

A symbol in written music that shows how many beats are in each measure and which note gets one beat

How Musical

opera
267 4.2
operetta
5 7.3
musical
206 3.0
play
1.4
closet drama
  • Literature
9.9

Surface Forms

musical singular
musicals plural

Morphology

musical = musical (semi-transparent) = music + al

The noun is a converted use of the adjective 'musical', but the genre sense 'a play or film with songs and dances' is a conventional specialized label rather than a fully predictable composition.

Etymology

Musical comes from music plus the ending -al that means 'relating to'. Music goes back to the name of the Muses, the old Greek arts figures who were thought to 'inspire' songs and poems, so a musical is a show where singing and music are the main parts.