nocturne
noun
noc·turne
| \ ˈnäk-ˌtərn
\
\
Definition of nocturne
: a work of art dealing with evening or night
especially
: a dreamy pensive composition for the piano — compare aubade sense 3
Examples of nocturne in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The first systematic study of Freer’s amazing treasure trove of more than 50 watercolors by James McNeill Whistler and includes figures, landscapes, nocturnes and interiors. — Roger Catlin, Smithsonian, "After More Than Eight Decades, These Exquisite Whistler Watercolors Make Their Public Debut," 18 June 2019 McDermott, unusually, makes the opera into a nocturne, with the sun setting at the end of Act One and all of Act Two taking place by night on the boardwalk. — Larry Wolff, The New York Review of Books, "‘Così’ in Coney," 27 Mar. 2018 Douglas Brenner: Your flow of rich, moody colors from room to room reminds me of the paintings Whistler called nocturnes, or harmonies. — Douglas Brenner, House Beautiful, "Alexander Doherty on Creating a Colorful Manhattan Apartment with Character," 2 Nov. 2012 This made the opening nocturne feel more contained, less disquieting, than when a soloist and conductor dig deeper into its brooding depths. — John Von Rhein, chicagotribune.com, "Kavakos offers impeccable Shostakovich with CSO, but gutsy passion in short supply," 9 Mar. 2018 The James Reinish booth is blanketed with works by artists exhibited by Alfred Stieglitz, including his own photographs, a small, excellent, nearly abstract nocturne by Georgia O’Keeffe and a 1908 tribute to Cezanne’s bathers by Abraham Walkowitz. — Roberta Smith, New York Times, "ADAA: A Fair to Remember Starts a Month of Art Show Madness," 1 Mar. 2018 Four arrangements of the fanfare are included on the album: the theme, prelude, nocturne and the full fanfare. — Milwaukee, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Recordings of 'Fanfare for Lake Country' now available," 23 Jan. 2018 The back-to-back solos, each set to a Chopin nocturne and choreographed 30 years apart, serve as the choreographer’s memoir, a gaze at his whole career and signature movement aesthetic in less than 10 minutes. — Lauren Warnecke, chicagotribune.com, "In rare performance, choreographer Doug Varone takes to stage along with his dancers at Columbia," 9 Feb. 2018 Varone makes a rare appearance to perform a retrospective of his career in two solos set to Chopin nocturnes. — Lauren Warnecke, chicagotribune.com, "Baryshnikov dancing at the Harris? No, 'Brodsky' is something different," 30 Jan. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'nocturne.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for nocturne
nocturne
noun
English Language Learners Definition of nocturne
: a piece of music especially for the piano that has a soft and somewhat sad melody
See the full definition for nocturne in the English Language Learners Dictionary
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