How to Use theremin in a Sentence

theremin

noun
  • Its shape resembles that of an eighth note, and its sound has been likened to that of a theremin.
    — Stephen J. Beard, Indianapolis Star, 24 May 2018
  • There even seemed to be a theremin playing in their midst in certain moments.
    — Sheila Regan, Twin Cities, 26 Jan. 2024
  • Wishnefsky plans to try out for the show again, this time playing his theremin.
    — Mike Sager, Esquire, 4 June 2015
  • Don’t be surprised if the musicians bring out whips, congas or a theremin if it’s called for.
    — Randy McMullen, The Mercury News, 8 Feb. 2017
  • Rui plays the song on his theremin, and Totsuko dances for her friends and for herself, coming alive.
    — Kayti Burt, Rolling Stone, 28 Jan. 2025
  • But the theremin remains just one facet of Lev Termen’s prodigious output.
    — Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 31 Oct. 2019
  • Much of the video shows the band fooling around with the amazing echo from the tower, on instruments like drums, electric guitar and theremin.
    — Sophie Weiner, Popular Mechanics, 23 Feb. 2018
  • While there are few theremin players, Sussman said the instrument has stood the test of time due to its popularity in music and film.
    — Anthony Clark Carpio, latimes.com, 14 June 2019
  • The Garbo movement opens with the sounds of the otherworldly ondes Martenot, a kind of French theremin with a keyboard.
    — Los Angeles Times, 16 July 2022
  • Francois Chambard, maker of conductive wallpaper and adorable theremins, is back with a clever new line of furniture called Patch.
    — Liz Stinson, Curbed, 24 Apr. 2018
  • Most comics use the setup and punch line like a nail and hammer, but Dangerfield used them as a theremin player uses her hands, to bring forth strange, unexpected effects.
    — Alex Halberstadt, New York Times, 26 Jan. 2018
  • Kalmar employed a musical saw, which gave just the right subtle color -- similar to that of a theremin - to help break from the stentorian pounding of the first and third movements.
    — Alan G. Artner, chicagotribune.com, 24 June 2017
  • No, not a creepy busker with a theremin, but the 1962 feature film directed by Morton DaCosta.
    — Alexis Mikulski Ruiz, Rolling Stone, 31 Oct. 2025
  • Before the moon landing, movie music for space travel mostly dealt in fantasy as well, whether with Wagnerian bombast or ghostly theremin.
    — Tim Greiving, Los Angeles Times, 15 Aug. 2019
  • Friction Quartet with Thorwald Jørgensen Jørgensen, theremin.
    — Chronicle Staff Report, San Francisco Chronicle, 10 May 2018
  • This meditative piece worked best when the mood was quiet and undulating, especially in the passage in high harmonics near the end, so otherworldly in sound, almost like a theremin.
    — Washington Post, 23 Jan. 2020
  • Drifting around the stage in billowing black silk drapery, Sumney pops in and out of scenes, singing with a mystical, human-theremin voice, accompanying himself on electric guitar.
    — Helen Shaw, New Yorker, 22 Aug. 2025
  • Jon Bernhardt, a former Somerville Arts Council board member, will play the theremin, an electronic instrument that is played without being touched.
    — Maddie Browning, BostonGlobe.com, 12 May 2023
  • By that point, the multi-instrumentalist — who can handle anything from guitar, bass, and banjo to trumpet, french horn, and theremin — had been an integral part of Wilson’s studio and road band for six years.
    — Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 19 Feb. 2024
  • Naturally, composer Guy Moon incorporated that old B-movie standby, a theremin, into the score where possible.
    — Josh Weiss, Forbes, 28 Oct. 2024
  • His hands fluttered above the keyboard in a way that looks very much like someone playing a theremin, the ethereal instrument that’s played by manipulating the invisible electromagnetic fields around a pair of antennas.
    — Boone Ashworth, WIRED, 8 Oct. 2024
  • As opposed to a traditional horror score with sweeping orchestrations and a bit of theremin, this show's music relies instead on minimalistic electronic arrangements to further lean into its offbeat ethos.
    — Nathan Mattise, Ars Technica, 14 June 2019
  • Last year’s , starring Ryan Gosling as astronaut Neil Armstrong, offers a fictional interpretation of the first moon landing, but the real scene-stealer was a theremin.
    — Tim Fernholz, Quartz, 19 July 2019
  • The theremin, an electrical instrument featured in science fiction movies, is typically operated by hand movements, but Davis’s version can also translate light signals into musical tones.
    — Steve Nadis, Discover Magazine, 29 Mar. 2013
  • The score’s palette is grounded in orchestra with experimental electronics, theremin, electric guitar, percussion made from NYC street sounds, a broken piano, and a penny whistle.
    — Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 26 May 2026
  • Theremin’s device also inspired Robert Moog, an American inventor who built his own theremin at age 14 by copying drawings found in a hobbyist magazine, per Smithsonian.
    — Nora McGreevy, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Dec. 2020
  • Their eponymous theme sets the tone with a churning brew of twinkling synths and ritualistic percussion, both of which are eventually subsumed into the supernatural (represented by the theremin) before a crash of guitar boils everything together into chaos.
    — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 20 Aug. 2025
  • The 16-year-old artist, who has spent the last few years focusing on her music career, is taking a break from calibrating her theremin to prepare a handful of fantasy projects, according to Amanda N’Duka of Deadline.
    — Rebecca Keegan, VanityFair.com, 12 Apr. 2017
  • Exhibits over the years have showcased a heady array of musical instruments and equipment, from guitars, pianos, accordions and reed instruments to synthesizers, theremins, foot pedals, a Harpejji (a 24-string cross between a piano and a guitar) and much more.
    — George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Mar. 2026
  • But just beneath the percolating absurdity (playfully underscored by composer Michael Abels’ liberal use of the otherworldly theremin) there’s a caustic cautionary tale that takes aim at numerous issues facing contemporary society.
    — Michael Rechtshaffen, Los Angeles Times, 18 Aug. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'theremin.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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