What does fortissimo mean?
Fortissimo is the Italian-derived musical term for 'very loud', abbreviated 'ff' in scores and sitting above 'forte' (loud) and below 'fortississimo' (as loud as possible) on the standard dynamic scale. Composers use it to mark climactic passages where the full power of an orchestra, choir, or instrument should be unleashed, and performers treat it as both a technical instruction and an expressive goal. Because the word has travelled beyond concert halls, it also serves figuratively in everyday language to describe anything delivered at maximum intensity — an argument made fortissimo, an entrance made fortissimo. Its connotations are dramatic and emphatic rather than refined; it evokes force, passion, and spectacle. The word is useful precisely because it bridges specialist and general usage, giving speakers an evocative shorthand for peak volume and vigour.
A musical direction indicating that a passage should be played or sung very loudly, marked in scores as 'ff'.
"Every instrument joins for the fortissimo of the final chord."
Also used adverbially ('to play fortissimo') and occasionally adjectivally ('a fortissimo climax').
Describing something performed or expressed with very great volume or force.
"The pianist's fortissimo outburst startled the front rows."
Rarely pluralised in practice; English usage treats it mostly as an invariant direction. When inflected, it follows Italian pluralisation to 'fortissimi'.
"The score contains several extended fortissimi in the brass."
On the musical loudness scale, fortissimo sits just one step below the rarest of all markings — fff, 'fortississimo' — meaning it is quite literally near the top of what composers ask of an orchestra.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of fortissimo
Fortissimo derives from Italian, formed by adding the superlative suffix '-issimo' to 'forte', meaning loud — both ultimately rooted in the Latin adjective 'fortis', meaning strong. It entered English during the growth of Italian musical terminology in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, when terms such as 'piano', 'allegro', and 'andante' became standard across Europe. The same Latin root gives English words like 'fortify', 'fortitude', and 'comfort', making fortissimo part of a broad family of strength-related vocabulary.
How fortissimo is actually used
Primarily a technical term of musical notation and performance, but widely understood enough to be used figuratively in general writing for emphasis or intensity. In music, 'ff' denotes a louder level than 'f' (forte) and a softer one than 'fff' (fortississimo). Pluralisation is uncommon since the term usually functions as a direction rather than a countable object; when treated as an Italian noun, its plural is 'fortissimi'.
Easily confused with fortissimo
'Forte' (f) means merely loud, while 'fortissimo' (ff) means very loud — two dynamic degrees stronger on the standard scale.