fortissimo

/fɔrˌtɪsəˈmoʊ/

Other forms: fortissimos

The word fortissimo in a piece of music means you need to play or sing very loudly at that point. It’s the opposite of pianissimo.

You may already know the Italian word forte as used in music to mean "loud" or "loudly." Fortissimo has the same root, plus the suffix -issimo, which is like the English ending -est in loudest. So theoretically, fortissimo tells you to produce the loudest sound you can. The instruction is represented by the symbol ƒƒ, but you can also see ƒƒƒ sometimes, or even ƒƒƒƒ! Which is extremely, crashingly loud!

Definitions of fortissimo

1. adverb

   (music) to be played very loudly; a direction in music;
   synonyms: very loudly

   antonyms:

   pianissimo

   a direction in music; to be played very softly
2. adjective

   (music) very loud; chiefly a direction or description in music
   synonyms:

   forte, loud

   (music) very loud; used chiefly as a direction or description in music
3. noun

   (music) a passage that is to be played very loudly
   synonyms: forte

   type of:

   intensity, loudness, volume

   the magnitude of sound (usually in a specified direction)