Baroque Meaning
/bəˈɹɒk/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjOrnate, intricate, decorated, laden with detail.
adjFrom or characteristic of the Baroque period.
Sentence Examples
She prefers quiet music - the baroque, for example.
I have no trouble sight-singing baroque music.
Note the fine early Baroque altar inside the chapel.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The museum's new exhibit features elaborate ____ sculptures from seventeenth-century Italy.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The church features ____ architecture with many elaborate decorations city.
Word Origin & History
Via French (which originally meant a pearl of irregular shape) from Portuguese barroco (“irregular pearl”); related to Spanish barrueco and Italian barocco and Sicilian baroccu, of uncertain ultimate origin, but possibly from Latin verruca (“wart”), or possibly from the technical construction of scholastic logic, Baroco.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"According to baroque.org, characteristics of baroque music include loud and soft dynamics, emphasis on harmony, and the use of string instruments and the harpsichord."
— 2022 May 2, Mary Beth Bauermann, “Bach-Rock: When Rock Went Baroque”, in Flat Hat Magazine, archived from the original on 09 Jul 2025:
"[…] has semi-circular arches similar to those in Bourges, but pierced by unusual and irregular openings, and ringed with amusing portrait heads such as would not be found in the great Gothic Baroques of France."
— 2003, Michael Jacobs, The Road to Santiago, page 103:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The museum's new exhibit features elaborate ____ sculptures from seventeenth-century Italy.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The church features ____ architecture with many elaborate decorations city.