breathiness

noun

1. (uncountable)The state or quality of being breathy.

   “The smooth, even surfaces of Mr. Glass’s music expose his weaknesses as a pianist, but the faults added a kind of human breathiness to the piano’s embellished tread (reminiscent of Satie’s “Gymnopédies”) in the concluding piece, “The Orchard.” Ms. Sutter and her borrowed cello sang a little raucously over it, like Carly Simon at the end of the night.”

   “If you dared, and if you had had any luck doing Princess Leia (Obi-Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope), you might even hazard Jessica Lange ’s tearful vanilla-rose breathiness: I really love you, Dorothy, but I can’t love you.”

2. (uncountable)The result or product of being breathy.

   “Here standard acoustic instruments are played in ways that suggest electronic sound: violins whir and buzz, woodwinds produce a toneless breathiness and a gentle tapping evokes a heartbeat.”