polyphony.

1. The combination of two or more distinct melodic lines sounding together.

2. The coexistence of distinct voices or perspectives in a text without their complete reduction to one controlling viewpoint.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• musical polyphony
• contrapuntal polyphony

On the page

Musical polyphony made the separate lines audible within a shared structure.

The passage shifted into contrapuntal polyphony when the second melody entered.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary / elevated general. Forms: Usually uncountable. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: description, narrative analysis, characterization, contrast. Disciplines: literary analysis, prose writing, advanced general English. Commonness: uncommon.