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Instrumental
Definitions
- 1 Essential or central; of great importance or relevance.
"He was instrumental in conducting the business."
- 2 Serving as an instrument, medium, means, or agency.
"Maxwell started back to his study, feeling that kind of satisfaction which a man feels when he has been even partly instrumental in finding an unemployed person a remunerative position."
- 3 Pertaining to, made by, or prepared for an instrument, especially a musical instrument (rather than the human voice).
"instrumental music"
- 4 A pause in the vocals of a song, usually occurring midway through, in which a musical instrument replaces the vocals.
- 5 Applied to a case expressing means or agency, generally corresponding to the English use of prepositions such as by, with, through, or by means of with the objective case.
"the instrumental case"
- 1 serving or acting as a means or aid wordnet
- 2 relating to or designed for or performed on musical instruments wordnet
- 1 The instrumental case.
- 2 A composition written or performed without lyrics or singing, using a lead instrument to replace vocals.
"I recommend this album in the face of the fact that five of the eleven songs are the purest filler, dull instrumentals with a harmonica rifling over an indifferent rhythm section. The rest is magnificent […]"
Etymology
From Middle English instrumental, instrumentale, from Medieval Latin īnstrūmentālis, equivalent to instrument + -al.
From Middle English instrumental, instrumentale, from Medieval Latin īnstrūmentālis, equivalent to instrument + -al.
See also for "instrumental"
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