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tone

/ˈtoʊn/noun, verb1 syllable

Tone means: the general atmosphere of a place or situation and the effect that it has on people.

Synonyms for tone34

noun, as in the general atmosphere of a place or situation and the effect that it has on people

noun, as in (music) the distinctive property of a complex sound (a voice or noise or musical sound)

timbre, timber, quality

noun, as in a quality of a given color that differs slightly from another color

shade, tint, tincture

noun, as in a musical interval of two semitones

whole tone, step, whole step

noun, as in a notation representing the pitch and duration of a musical sound

note, musical note

noun, as in the elastic tension of living muscles, arteries, etc. that facilitate response to stimuli

tonicity, tonus

noun, as in the quality of a person's voice

tone of voice

noun, as in a steady sound without overtones

pure tone

verb, as in utter monotonously and repetitively and rhythmically

chant, intone

verb, as in vary the pitch of one's speech

inflect, modulate

verb, as in give a healthy elasticity to

tone up, strengthen

also used for tone

color, colour, dye, paint, firm, firm up

Includes material from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

What does tone mean?15

noun

1

the general atmosphere of a place or situation and the effect that it has on people“the feel of the city excited him”

2

(music) the distinctive property of a complex sound (a voice or noise or musical sound)“the timbre of her soprano was rich and lovely”

3

a quality of a given color that differs slightly from another color“after several trials he mixed the shade of pink that she wanted”

4

a musical interval of two semitones

5

a notation representing the pitch and duration of a musical sound“the singer held the note too long”

6

the elastic tension of living muscles, arteries, etc. that facilitate response to stimuli“the doctor tested my tonicity”

7

the quality of a person's voice“he began in a conversational tone”

8

a steady sound without overtones“they tested his hearing with pure tones of different frequencies”

9

(linguistics) a pitch or change in pitch of the voice that serves to distinguish words in tonal languages“the Beijing dialect uses four tones”

10

the quality of something (an act or a piece of writing) that reveals the attitudes and presuppositions of the author“the general tone of articles appearing in the newspapers is that the government should withdraw”

verb

1

utter monotonously and repetitively and rhythmically“The students chanted the same slogan over and over again”

2

vary the pitch of one's speech

3

give a healthy elasticity to“Let's tone our muscles”

4

change the color or tone of“tone a negative”

5

change to a color image“tone a photographic image”

Definitions from the Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

What rhymes with tone?35

Show 40 near rhymes

All 35 rhymes for tone, grouped by syllable

Tone in a sentence

  • Don't you take that tone of voice with me, young man!mailohilohi
  • Don't you take that tone of voice with me, young lady!mailohilohi
  • How dare you talk to me in that tone of voice, young lady?OsoHombre
  • Her voice had a very kind tone, soft, almost loving.adiante19
  • Use simple language in a gentle, neutral and clear tone.DJ_Saidez
  • Oh, but it's the tone of the messages!LimeGreenTeknii
  • William addressed the crowd in a calm, measured tone.Amastan
  • I could hear his tone change, but he kept talking.Nuel

Sentences from Tatoeba, CC BY 2.0 FR, credited to their authors.

Forms of tone

as a noun

plural
tones

as a verb

past tense
toned
present participle
toning
third-person singular
tones
past participle
toned