contrapuntal
adjective
con·tra·pun·tal ˌkän-trə-ˈpən-tᵊl 
1
: polyphonic
2
: of, relating to, or marked by counterpoint
contrapuntally
ˌkän-trə-ˈpən-tᵊl-ē
adverb 
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web The strings are divided into two groups and operate in contrapuntal dialogue, building a universe in sound from the lowest notes. 
Los Angeles Times, 22 Feb. 2022 Bach’s wondrous contrapuntal complexity, full of numerical symbolism and mathematical purity, is mirrored on stage with the dancers assuming architectural set pieces of great beauty. Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2022 With strong, contrapuntal performances from Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Jesse Plemons, and a haunting score by Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood, Campion and Wegner were careful not to visually overload any scene. Los Angeles Times, 5 Jan. 2022 Most of the movie is realized in extended takes that Akerman composes and calibrates to highlight the dancers’ deft comings and goings, the intricately contrapuntal connections of their gestures. Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2021 Throughout the book, there are contrapuntal poems that reflect these conflicts or two selves: self and mirror self as well as self and shadow self. Alejandra Oliva, refinery29.com, 26 Oct. 2021 Frogs croak, a skylark soars above all in dazzling pianistic glitter, grasshopper warblers rattle as their names suggest, and one reed warbler enters into a rapturous contrapuntal duet with another. Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2021 Drawn to the most extreme position, Judd eschewed any sort of contrapuntal or hierarchical arrangements of shapes and marks on a surface. David Salle, The New York Review of Books, 17 Dec. 2020 The harmony is, in places, arrestingly thick and hazy, the layering of motifs engagingly contrapuntal. Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker, 9 Aug. 2021 See More
Los Angeles Times, 22 Feb. 2022 Bach’s wondrous contrapuntal complexity, full of numerical symbolism and mathematical purity, is mirrored on stage with the dancers assuming architectural set pieces of great beauty. Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2022 With strong, contrapuntal performances from Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Jesse Plemons, and a haunting score by Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood, Campion and Wegner were careful not to visually overload any scene. Los Angeles Times, 5 Jan. 2022 Most of the movie is realized in extended takes that Akerman composes and calibrates to highlight the dancers’ deft comings and goings, the intricately contrapuntal connections of their gestures. Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2021 Throughout the book, there are contrapuntal poems that reflect these conflicts or two selves: self and mirror self as well as self and shadow self. Alejandra Oliva, refinery29.com, 26 Oct. 2021 Frogs croak, a skylark soars above all in dazzling pianistic glitter, grasshopper warblers rattle as their names suggest, and one reed warbler enters into a rapturous contrapuntal duet with another. Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2021 Drawn to the most extreme position, Judd eschewed any sort of contrapuntal or hierarchical arrangements of shapes and marks on a surface. David Salle, The New York Review of Books, 17 Dec. 2020 The harmony is, in places, arrestingly thick and hazy, the layering of motifs engagingly contrapuntal. Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker, 9 Aug. 2021 See More Word History
Etymology
Italian contrappunto counterpoint, from Medieval Latin contrapunctus — more at counterpoint entry 1
First Known Use
1816, in the meaning defined at sense 1