overture
pronunciation
How to pronounce overture in British English:
UK [ˈəʊvətʃʊə(r)]
How to pronounce overture in American English:
US [ˈoʊvərtʃər]
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- Noun:
- orchestral music played at the beginning of an opera or oratorio
- something that serves as a preceding event or introduces what follows
- a tentative suggestion designed to elicit the reactions of others
Word Origin
- overture (n.)
- mid-13c., "opening, aperture;" early 15c. as "an introductory proposal," from Old French overture "opening; proposal" (Modern French ouverture), from Latin apertura "opening," from aperire "to open, uncover" (see overt). Orchestral sense first recorded in English 1660s.
Synonym
Example
- 1. Every peace overture , every admonition against disproportionate military force , is attributed to sharett 's vision and inspiration .
- 2. Washington and seoul , however , have been lukewarm to beijing 's overture , worried that it could appear to be rewarding pyongyang for its provocative actions .
- 3. Yahoo rebuffed microsoft 's most recent overture little more than a week ago , after failing to agree terms for an acquisition by the software company earlier this year .
- 4. Yet robert barnett , a tibet expert at columbia university in new york , points out that there is nothing new in china 's rejection of mr sangay 's overture .
- 5. President ahmadinejad , facing an election battle of his own in june 2009 , responded by calling for an apology for decades of american misdeeds , but did not explicitly reject the overture .