overture

overture Definition

over·ture (ō′vər c̸hər)

noun

an introductory proposal or offer; indication of willingness to negotiate
1. a musical introduction to an opera or other large musical work
2. an independent orchestral composition of varying form
in Presbyterian churches, a proposal or question submitted as by the general assembly to the presbyteries
any introductory section

Etymology: ME, an opening < OFr < VL *opertura < L apertura, aperture

transitive verb -·tured, -·tur·ing

to present as an overture

overture Synonyms

Preliminary negotiations; sometimes plural
approach, advance, tender, offer; see suggestion 1.
A musical introduction
prelude, prologue, Vorspiel (German), voluntary, proem, preface; see also introduction 1.

overture Usage Examples

Converse of object

resist: The Vatican tends to resist such overtures, on the basis that a subsequent explanation in medical terms could destroy all notion of miracles.
reject: City were lifted from the start with the appearance of Luke Prince, playing having rejected overtures from DML rivals Weston-super-Mare.
tell: Try playing the William Tell Overture by tapping on the bottom of your chin.
make: The story of an acrobat who makes overtures to the daughter of a man whom he has murdered.
accept: I do not accept the overtures of John the student.
write: It was pointed out to me a week or two later that I had written Overture to The Marriage of Figaro!

Adjective modifier

acquisitive: Of income you've lost off acquisitive overtures wound up with.
diplomatic: Initially the US made demands rather than apologies or constructive diplomatic overtures.
sexual: At an estate agency the proprietress, Moira, makes some explicit sexual overtures to Carla which she finds intriguing.
French: The second volume, consisting of the Italian Concerto and the French Overture, duly appeared in 1735.
friendly: Had she, I wondered, suspected that an unwelcome or over friendly overture was about to be made by the older woman?
such: His diocesan would scarcely have approved of such overtures to a person already widely believed to be a sorcerer.

Modifies a noun

listing: More than 88,000 businesses across the globe are currently advertising on Overture search listings.
score: This extremely powerful feature can be used to find available domains in various TLDs with high Overture scores.
campaign: In my next article I'll discuss the effectiveness of Overture campaign to online stores.
digger: Overture Digger allows for deep scanning of Overture based on domains generated from Overture keyword results.

Noun used with modifier

concert: Wagner's music: As a young man Wagner composed some concert overtures and a symphony before turning his attention to opera.
peace: Throughout the first half of 1945 the Japanese made peace overtures.
subsidiary: Its Web site and image results are now supplied by its subsidiary Overture and it offers some serious competition to Google.
opera: Waiters burst into half-conscious accompaniment to classical and light opera overtures.

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