Anacrusis

//anəˈkɹuːsɪs// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An unstressed syllable at the start of a verse.
  2. 2
    An unstressed note or notes before the first strong beat (or downbeat) of a phrase.

    "Then Etheridge poised his baton, jerked an upbeat, and made the violinists speak the low G and A of their anacrusis."

Synonyms

All synonyms
accentanapestbeatbridgeburdencadence

Example

More examples

"Then Etheridge poised his baton, jerked an upbeat, and made the violinists speak the low G and A of their anacrusis."

Etymology

Via New Latin from Ancient Greek ἀνάκρουσις (anákrousis, “pushing up”), from ἀνακρούω (anakroúō, “I push up”), from ἀνά (aná, “up”) + κρούω (kroúō, “I strike”).

More for "anacrusis"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.