TONE

Pronunciation (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does tone mean? 

• TONE (noun)
  The noun TONE has 10 senses:

1. the quality of a person's voice
2. (linguistics) a pitch or change in pitch of the voice that serves to distinguish words in tonal languages
3. (music) the distinctive property of a complex sound (a voice or noise or musical sound)
4. the general atmosphere of a place or situation and the effect that it has on people
5. a quality of a given color that differs slightly from a primary color
6. a notation representing the pitch and duration of a musical sound
7. a steady sound without overtones
8. the elastic tension of living muscles, arteries, etc. that facilitate response to stimuli
9. a musical interval of two semitones
10. the quality of something (an act or a piece of writing) that reveals the attitudes and presuppositions of the author

  Familiarity information: TONE used as a noun is familiar.

• TONE (verb)
  The verb TONE has 5 senses:

1. utter monotonously and repetitively and rhythmically
2. vary the pitch of one's speech
3. change the color or tone of
4. change to a color image
5. give a healthy elasticity to

  Familiarity information: TONE used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• TONE (noun)

Sense 1

tone [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

The quality of a person's voice

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

tone of voice; tone

Context examples:

he began in a conversational tone / he spoke in a nervous tone of voice

Hypernyms ("tone" is a kind of...):

delivery; manner of speaking; speech (your characteristic style or manner of expressing yourself orally)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "tone"):

note (a tone of voice that shows what the speaker is feeling)

rotundity; roundness (the fullness of a tone of voice)

undertone (a quiet or hushed tone of voice)

Sense 2

tone [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

(linguistics) a pitch or change in pitch of the voice that serves to distinguish words in tonal languages

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Context example:

the Beijing dialect uses four tones

Hypernyms ("tone" is a kind of...):

pitch (the property of sound that varies with variation in the frequency of vibration)

Domain category:

linguistics (the scientific study of language)

Sense 3

tone [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

(music) the distinctive property of a complex sound (a voice or noise or musical sound)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

timbre; tone; quality; timber

Context examples:

the timbre of her soprano was rich and lovely / the muffled tones of the broken bell summoned them to meet

Hypernyms ("tone" is a kind of...):

sound property (an attribute of sound)

Domain category:

music (an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "tone"):

register ((music) the timbre that is characteristic of a certain range and manner of production of the human voice or of different pipe organ stops or of different musical instruments)

shrillness; stridence; stridency (having the timbre of a loud high-pitched sound)

plangency; resonance; reverberance; ringing; sonority; sonorousness; vibrancy (having the character of a loud deep sound; the quality of being resonant)

nasality (a quality of the voice that is produced by nasal resonators)

color; coloration; colour; colouration (the timbre of a musical sound)

resonance (the quality imparted to voiced speech sounds by the action of the resonating chambers of the throat and mouth and nasal cavities)

harmonic (any of a series of musical tones whose frequencies are integral multiples of the frequency of a fundamental)

Sense 4

tone [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

The general atmosphere of a place or situation and the effect that it has on people

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

flavour; flavor; spirit; feel; feeling; smell; look; tone

Context examples:

the feel of the city excited him / a clergyman improved the tone of the meeting / it had the smell of treason

Hypernyms ("tone" is a kind of...):

ambiance; ambience; atmosphere (a particular environment or surrounding influence)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "tone"):

Hollywood (a flashy vulgar tone or atmosphere believed to be characteristic of the American film industry)

Zeitgeist (the spirit of the time; the spirit characteristic of an age or generation)

Sense 5

tone [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

A quality of a given color that differs slightly from a primary color

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

tint; shade; tincture; tone

Context example:

after several trials he mixed the shade of pink that she wanted

Hypernyms ("tone" is a kind of...):

color; coloring; colour; colouring (a visual attribute of things that results from the light they emit or transmit or reflect)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "tone"):

mellowness (a soft shade of a color)

richness (a strong deep vividness of hue)

tinge; undertone (a pale or subdued color)

Sense 6

tone [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

A notation representing the pitch and duration of a musical sound

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

musical note; note; tone

Context example:

the singer held the note too long

Hypernyms ("tone" is a kind of...):

musical notation (a notation used by musicians)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "tone"):

semibreve; whole note (a musical note having the longest time value (equal to four beats in common time))

half note; minim (a musical note having the time value of half a whole note)

crotchet; quarter note (a musical note having the time value of a quarter of a whole note)

eighth note; quaver (a musical note having the time value of an eighth of a whole note)

semiquaver; sixteenth note (a musical note having the time value of a sixteenth of a whole note)

demisemiquaver; thirty-second note (a musical note having the time value of a thirty-second of a whole note)

hemidemisemiquaver; sixty-fourth note (a musical note having the time value of a sixty-fourth of a whole note)

acciaccatura; appoggiatura; grace note (an embellishing note usually written in smaller size)

blue note (a flattened third or seventh)

monotone (a single tone repeated with different words or different rhythms (especially in rendering liturgical texts))

passing note; passing tone (a nonharmonic note inserted for transition between harmonic notes)

chord (a combination of three or more notes that blend harmoniously when sounded together)

middle C (the note designated by the first ledger line below the treble staff; 261.63 hertz)

supertonic ((music) the second note of a diatonic scale)

mediant ((music) the third note of a diatonic scale; midway between the tonic and the dominant)

subdominant ((music) the fourth note of the diatonic scale)

dominant ((music) the fifth note of the diatonic scale)

submediant ((music) the sixth note of a major or minor scale (or the third below the tonic))

leading tone; subtonic ((music) the seventh note of the diatonic scale)

pedal; pedal point (a sustained bass note)

shake; trill (a note that alternates rapidly with another note a semitone above it)

keynote; tonic ((music) the first note of a diatonic scale)

Holonyms ("tone" is a member of...):

musical scale; scale ((music) a series of notes differing in pitch according to a specific scheme (usually within an octave))

Sense 7

tone [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

A steady sound without overtones

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

pure tone; tone

Context example:

they tested his hearing with pure tones of different frequencies

Hypernyms ("tone" is a kind of...):

auditory sensation; sound (the subjective sensation of hearing something)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "tone"):

harmonic (a tone that is a component of a complex sound)

Sense 8

tone [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

The elastic tension of living muscles, arteries, etc. that facilitate response to stimuli

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

tonus; tonicity; tone

Context example:

the doctor tested my tonicity

Hypernyms ("tone" is a kind of...):

tautness; tenseness; tension; tensity (the physical condition of being stretched or strained)

Domain category:

muscle; muscular tissue (animal tissue consisting predominantly of contractile cells)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "tone"):

hypertonia; hypertonicity; hypertonus ((of muscular tissue) the state of being hypertonic)

myotonia (abnormally long muscular contractions; slow relaxation of a muscle after a contraction)

muscle tone; muscular tonus (normal tonicity of the muscles)

catatonia (extreme tonus; muscular rigidity; a common symptom in catatonic schizophrenia)

hypotonia; hypotonicity; hypotonus ((of muscular tissue) the state of being hypotonic)

Sense 9

tone [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

A musical interval of two semitones

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

whole tone; whole step; step; tone

Hypernyms ("tone" is a kind of...):

interval; musical interval (the difference in pitch between two notes)

Sense 10

tone [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

The quality of something (an act or a piece of writing) that reveals the attitudes and presuppositions of the author

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Context examples:

the general tone of articles appearing in the newspapers is that the government should withdraw / from the tone of her behavior I gathered that I had outstayed my welcome

Hypernyms ("tone" is a kind of...):

quality (an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone)

• TONE (verb)

Sense 1

tone [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

Utter monotonously and repetitively and rhythmically

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

intone; tone; chant

Context example:

The students chanted the same slogan over and over again

Hypernyms (to "tone" is one way to...):

mouth; speak; talk; utter; verbalise; verbalize (express in speech)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 2

tone [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

Vary the pitch of one's speech

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

inflect; modulate; tone

Hypernyms (to "tone" is one way to...):

mouth; speak; talk; utter; verbalise; verbalize (express in speech)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 3

tone [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

Change the color or tone of

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Context example:

tone a negative

Hypernyms (to "tone" is one way to...):

color; colour; discolor; discolour (change color, often in an undesired manner)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sense 4

tone [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

Change to a color image

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Context example:

tone a photographic image

Hypernyms (to "tone" is one way to...):

color; color in; colorise; colorize; colour; colour in; colourise; colourize (add color to)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sense 5

tone [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

Give a healthy elasticity to

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Synonyms:

tone up; strengthen; tone

Context example:

Let's tone our muscles

Hypernyms (to "tone" is one way to...):

exercise; work out (do physical exercise)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something