noun
- Orchestral music played at the beginning of an opera or oratorio.
- Something that serves as a preceding event or introduces what follows.
- usage: "training is a necessary preliminary to employment"; "drinks were the overture to dinner"
- synonyms: preliminary, prelude
- A tentative suggestion designed to elicit the reactions of others.
- usage: "she rejected his advances"
WordNet 3.0 © 2006 by Princeton University
| APA | WordNet. (2010). overture. Retrieved September 20, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/overture/definitions/1218716 |
| Chicago | WordNet. 2010. "overture" http://smartdefine.org/overture/definitions/1218716 (accessed September 20, 2026). |
| Harvard | WordNet 2010, overture, Smart Define, viewed 20 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/overture/definitions/1218716>. |
| MLA | WordNet. "overture" 23 October 2010. Web. 20 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/overture/definitions/1218716> |