heldentenor

noun

hel·​den·​te·​nor ˈhel-dən-ˌtā-ˌnȯr How to pronounce heldentenor (audio) -ˌte-nər How to pronounce heldentenor (audio)
variants often Heldentenor
: a tenor with a powerful, dramatic voice well suited to heroic roles (as in Wagnerian operas)

Examples of heldentenor in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
As Rodolfo, Carreras was first-rate, his heldentenor voice enhanced by an impressive range of tonal color. — Special To The Plain Dealer, cleveland.com, 13 June 2017 And the music is rapturously handled, thanks to the conductor Lorenzo Viotti, the heldentenor Clay Hilley and the soprano Lenneke Ruiten. — New York Times, 23 Sep. 2021 That said, Saturday night was a fireworks show, including a trio of stunner main-stage debuts from soprano Pretty Yende, British heldentenor David Butt Philip and bass-baritone Christian Van Horn. — Washington Post, 7 Nov. 2021

Word History

Etymology

German, from Held hero + Tenor tenor

First Known Use

circa 1903, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of heldentenor was circa 1903

Rhymes for heldentenor

See All Rhymes for heldentenor

Browse Nearby Words

held ball
heldentenor
held in contempt
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Heldentenor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heldentenor. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All