Ritardando definitions and example sentences on Wordnik

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But children are usually not able to keep their minds on the task in hand to this extent, and if there is to be a ritardando or a crescendo at a certain point, the only safe thing is to teach this change in tempo or dynamics when first taking up the song, so that the expressional element may become a habit in the same way as the tones and rhythms.

—Essentials in Conducting

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Definitions (4)

American Heritage Dictionary (1)

adverb Music Gradually slowing in tempo; retarding. Used chiefly as a direction.

Century Dictionary (1)

GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

WordNet (1)

Elsewhere on the web

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Examples (22)

The last bar of the orchestral ritornel must be played a good deal ritardando, so as to make the tempo of this postlude even more majestic where the trumpets enter, by which means also the violins will be enabled to bring out the lively staccato figures strongly and clearly. — Correspondence of Wagner and Liszt, Volume 1
In the closing bars of the first movement, the ticking clock really does stop when the conductor, as Giulini does, resists even the merest suggestion of a ritardando. — AvaxHome RSS:
The reverse can be done with a diminuendo and slight ritardando. — Violinist.com
A slight ritardando from Solomon, some non-legato chords, and we plunge into the throes of the coda, a descent into the Brahms maelstrom from which we need a long breath. — Audiophile Audition Headlines
The climax had a twinge of anxiety to it and the return of the famous theme after this arrived with extra ritardando, wonderfully accentuating the denouement quality of the end. — post-gazette.com - News