Norman CousinsChris MundyMiles Hoffman 
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A literary opus is often a single novel, though the word may sometimes refer to all of a writer's works. But opus normally is used for musical works. Mendelssohn's Opus 90 is his Italian Symphony, for example, and Brahms's Op. 77 is his Violin Concerto. Since many composers' works were never given opus numbers in an orderly way, they now often have catalog numbers assigned by later scholars. So Haydn's Symphony No. 104 is Hob.104 (Hob. is short for Anthony van Hoboken, the cataloger), and Mozart's Marriage of Figaro is K.492 (K. stands for Ludwig Köchel).
Examples of opus in a Sentence
Brian T. Allen, National Review, 21 Mar. 2024
Soundgarden’s best-selling album, the dizzyingly diverse 70-minute opus Superunknown, was released 30 years ago last week.
—Al Shipley, SPIN, 9 Mar. 2024
The 366-page opus, which Fantagraphics will publish on Feb. 27, centers on a character named Saint Sambo, a blackface figure in a top hat and chains, his face plastered with an exaggerated smile outlined in white that harks back to minstrelsy days.
—Robert Ito, New York Times, 25 Feb. 2024
Nolan’s opus ties Barbie for most SAG nominations received by a film this year, with four.
—Brendan Le, Peoplemag, 25 Feb. 2024
Christopher Nolan’s opus scored for best film and director during tonight’s ceremony, held for the second year at London’s Royal Festival Hall.
—Emily Zemler, Los Angeles Times, 19 Feb. 2024
Loving Music Takes Action Since 2017, on each anniversary of her birth, Liu Lian has unveiled a solitary opus that leans more toward personal introspection.
—Billboard China, Billboard, 6 Mar. 2024
The movie flicks at a variety of pieces from Bernstein's opus, in both background music and set pieces.
—Scott Hocker, theweek, 5 Jan. 2024
Sufjan Stevens, 'Javelin' Sufjan Stevens has been writing baroque-pop opuses for two decades, but his 10th studio album finds him at the peak of his powers, and at his darkest.
—Jason Lamphier, EW.com, 13 Dec. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'opus.' 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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Cite this Entry
“Opus.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/opus. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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opus
noun
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