Tone
[təʊn] or [ton]
Definition
(noun.) (linguistics) a pitch or change in pitch of the voice that serves to distinguish words in tonal languages; 'the Beijing dialect uses four tones'.
(noun.) 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'; 'from the tone of her behavior I gathered that I had outstayed my welcome'.
(noun.) a steady sound without overtones; 'they tested his hearing with pure tones of different frequencies'.
(noun.) a musical interval of two semitones.
(noun.) the quality of a person's voice; 'he began in a conversational tone'; 'he spoke in a nervous tone of voice'.
(verb.) give a healthy elasticity to; 'Let's tone our muscles'.
(verb.) change to a color image; 'tone a photographic image'.
(verb.) change the color or tone of; 'tone a negative'.
(verb.) vary the pitch of one's speech.
(verb.) utter monotonously and repetitively and rhythmically; 'The students chanted the same slogan over and over again'.
Checked by Gerald--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) Sound, or the character of a sound, or a sound considered as of this or that character; as, a low, high, loud, grave, acute, sweet, or harsh tone.
(n.) Accent, or inflection or modulation of the voice, as adapted to express emotion or passion.
(n.) A whining style of speaking; a kind of mournful or artificial strain of voice; an affected speaking with a measured rhythm ahd a regular rise and fall of the voice; as, children often read with a tone.
(n.) A sound considered as to pitch; as, the seven tones of the octave; she has good high tones.
(n.) The larger kind of interval between contiguous sounds in the diatonic scale, the smaller being called a semitone as, a whole tone too flat; raise it a tone.
(n.) The peculiar quality of sound in any voice or instrument; as, a rich tone, a reedy tone.
(n.) A mode or tune or plain chant; as, the Gregorian tones.
(n.) That state of a body, or of any of its organs or parts, in which the animal functions are healthy and performed with due vigor.
(n.) Tonicity; as, arterial tone.
(n.) State of mind; temper; mood.
(n.) Tenor; character; spirit; drift; as, the tone of his remarks was commendatory.
(n.) General or prevailing character or style, as of morals, manners, or sentiment, in reference to a scale of high and low; as, a low tone of morals; a tone of elevated sentiment; a courtly tone of manners.
(n.) The general effect of a picture produced by the combination of light and shade, together with color in the case of a painting; -- commonly used in a favorable sense; as, this picture has tone.
(v. t.) To utter with an affected tone.
(v. t.) To give tone, or a particular tone, to; to tune. See Tune, v. t.
(v. t.) To bring, as a print, to a certain required shade of color, as by chemical treatment.
Edited by Helen
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. [1]. Sound, note.[2]. Accent, intonation, emphasis, cadence, modulation.[3]. Temper, mood, state of mind.[4]. Vigor, strength, energy, force, tension, elasticity.[5]. Prevailing color (of a picture), general effect, style, manner, cast.[6]. Tenor, drift, prevailing character, spirit.
Typist: Sam
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Pitch, loudness, mood, intonation, sound, temper, tenor, character, drift,effect
ANT:Atony, laxity, tunelessness
Typist: Tim
Definition
n. the character of a sound: quality of the voice: harmony of the colours of a painting also its characteristic or prevailing effect as due to the management of chiaroscuro and to the effect of light upon the quality of colour: (phot.) the shade or colour of a finished positive picture: (gram.) syllabic stress special accent given to a syllable: character or style: state of mind: mood: a healthy state of the body.—v.t. to utter with an affected tone: to intone to utter in a drawling way: to give tone or quality to in respect either of sound or colour: to alter or modify the colour.—adj. Tō′nal.—n. Tonal′ity.—adjs. Toned having a tone (in compounds); Tone′less.—Tone down to give a lower tone to to moderate to soften to harmonise the colours of as to light and shade as a painting.
Inputed by Alphonso
Examples
- Or her taste for peculiar people, put in Mrs. Archer in a dry tone, while her eyes dwelt innocently on her son's. Edith Wharton. The Age of Innocence.
- Then, collecting himself, he added in his usual tone, And what may it be your pleasure to want at so early an hour with the poor Jew? Walter Scott. Ivanhoe.
- Dorothea spoke in a full cordial tone, half caressing, half explanatory. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- Presently, without preface or prelude, she said, almost in the tone of one making an accusation, Meess, in England you were a governess? Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- You take an eager interest in that gentleman's concerns, said Darcy, in a less tranquil tone, and with a heightened colour. Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice.
- In quality and tone it is a fair sample of British political thought in 1919. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- Its tone was indeed solemn and pervasive. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
- Musical instruments maybe divided into three groups according to the different ways in which their tones are produced:-- _First. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- I cried in tones of fierce anger. Edgar Rice Burroughs. The Gods of Mars.
- The improved instrument produces untempered tones without requiring extraordinary variations from the usual arrangement of the keys. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- I gently opened the door so as not to disturb him, and spoke my few parting words in low tones, which he might hear or not, as he pleased. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- When quite close to them she spoke a single Martian word in low but peremptory tones. Edgar Rice Burroughs. The Gods of Mars.
- Mr. Farebrother seemed to wait for a recognition of the fact; and the emotion perceptible in the tones of his fine voice gave solemnity to his words. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- Yes, she repeated, in tones of the bitterest, steadiest contempt. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- As she came to the last words, Miss Sharp's deep-toned voice faltered. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- Not the least disguise toned down or shaded off that uncompromising fact in the landscape. Charles Dickens. Hard Times.
- A roar of deep-toned applause greeted this suggestion. Edgar Rice Burroughs. A Princess of Mars.
- Wilfer to colour, Mrs Wilfer, from a corner (she always got into stately corners) came to the rescue with a deep-toned 'Per-fectly. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- Mrs. Bulstrode was a feminine smaller edition of her brother, and had none of her husband's low-toned pallor. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- Diana had a voice toned, to my ear, like the cooing of a dove. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- And as she played with skill, and had a well-toned voice, it was not disagreeable to listen to her. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- To avoid this it is washed first in water and then immersed in a chloride of gold toning bath and fixed. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- The boy drew his chubby face down to a formidable length, and commenced toning a psalm tune through his nose, with imperturbable gravity. Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- It might justly be compared with a sketch which is all right as far as it goes, but which requires toning down and elaboration before becoming a finished work of art. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
Inputed by Franklin