» tone

Words people most associate with “tone”:

  1. deaf,
  2. voice,
  3. sound,
  4. note,
  5. music

[via wordassociation.org]

Noun (10 meanings)

1. the quality of a person's voice.

tone, tone of voice

Examples:
  • “he began in a conversational tone”,
  • “he spoke in a nervous tone of voice”
tone is a type of:
types of tone:
  • note (noun) - a tone of voice that shows what the speaker is feeling
  • roundness, rotundity (noun) - the fullness of a tone of voice
  • undertone (noun) - a quiet or hushed tone of voice
tone is derivationally related to:
  • to intonate, intone (verb) - speak carefully, as with rising and falling pitch or in a particular tone

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

tone

Example:
  • “the Beijing dialect uses four tones”
tone is a type of:
  • pitch (noun) - the property of sound that varies with variation in the frequency of vibration
tone is derivationally related to:
  • to intonate, intone (verb) - speak carefully, as with rising and falling pitch or in a particular tone
  • to tone, inflect, modulate (verb) - vary the pitch of one's speech
  • tonic, tonal (adjective) - employing variations in pitch to distinguish meanings of otherwise similar words
Domain of synset - TOPIC:

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

timbre, timber, quality, tone

Examples:
  • “the timbre of her soprano was rich and lovely”,
  • “the muffled tones of the broken bell summoned them to meet”
tone is a type of:
types of tone:
  • resonance (noun) - the quality imparted to voiced speech sounds by the action of the resonating chambers of the throat and mouth and nasal cavities
  • shrillness, stridence, stridency (noun) - having the timbre of a loud high-pitched sound
tone is derivationally related to:
Domain of synset - TOPIC:
  • music (noun) - an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner

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

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

Examples:
  • “the feel of the city excited him”,
  • “a clergyman improved the tone of the meeting”,
  • “it had the smell of treason”
tone is a type of:
types of tone:
  • Hollywood (noun) - a flashy vulgar tone or atmosphere believed to be characteristic of the American film industry
  • Zeitgeist (noun) - the spirit of the time
tone is derivationally related to:
  • to feel (verb) - undergo passive experience of:"We felt the effects of inflation"
  • to feel (verb) - produce a certain impression
  • to feel (verb) - be felt or perceived in a certain way
  • to look, appear, seem (verb) - give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
  • to spirit, spirit up, inspirit (verb) - infuse with spirit

5. a quality of a given color that differs slightly from another color.

shade, tint, tincture, tone

Example:
  • “after several trials he mixed the shade of pink that she wanted”
tone is a type of:
types of tone:
tone is derivationally related to:
  • to tincture (verb) - stain or tint with a color
  • to tint, tinct, tinge, touch (verb) - color lightly
  • to tone (verb) - change to a color image
  • to tone (verb) - change the color or tone of

6. a notation representing the pitch and duration of a musical sound.

note, musical note, tone

Example:
  • “the singer held the note too long”
tone is a type of:
types of tone:
  • blue note (noun) - a flattened third or seventh
  • chord (noun) - a combination of three or more notes that blend harmoniously when sounded together
  • dominant (noun) - (music) the fifth note of the diatonic scale
  • eighth note, quaver (noun) - a musical note having the time value of an eighth of a whole note
  • grace note, appoggiatura, acciaccatura (noun) - an embellishing note usually written in smaller size
  • half note, minim (noun) - a musical note having the time value of half a whole note
  • mediant (noun) - (music) the third note of a diatonic scale
  • middle C (noun) - the note designated by the first ledger line below the treble staff
  • monotone (noun) - a single tone repeated with different words or different rhythms (especially in rendering liturgical texts)
  • passing note, passing tone (noun) - a nonharmonic note inserted for transition between harmonic notes
  • pedal point, pedal (noun) - a sustained bass note
  • quarter note, crotchet (noun) - a musical note having the time value of a quarter of a whole note
  • sixteenth note, semiquaver (noun) - a musical note having the time value of a sixteenth of a whole note
  • sixty-fourth note, hemidemisemiquaver (noun) - a musical note having the time value of a sixty-fourth of a whole note
  • subdominant (noun) - (music) the fourth note of the diatonic scale
  • submediant (noun) - (music) the sixth note of a major or minor scale (or the third below the tonic)
  • subtonic, leading tone (noun) - (music) the seventh note of the diatonic scale
  • supertonic (noun) - (music) the second note of a diatonic scale
  • thirty-second note, demisemiquaver (noun) - a musical note having the time value of a thirty-second of a whole note
  • tonic, keynote (noun) - (music) the first note of a diatonic scale
  • trill, shake (noun) - a note that alternates rapidly with another note a semitone above it
  • whole note, semibreve (noun) - a musical note having the longest time value (equal to four beats in common time)
tone is a member of:
  • scale, musical scale (noun) - (music) a series of notes differing in pitch according to a specific scheme (usually within an octave)
tone is derivationally related to:
  • tonic (adjective) - relating to or being the keynote of a major or minor scale

7. a steady sound without overtones.

tone, pure tone

Example:
  • “they tested his hearing with pure tones of different frequencies”
tone is a type of:
types of tone:
  • harmonic (noun) - a tone that is a component of a complex sound
tone is derivationally related to:
  • tonal (adjective) - having tonality

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

tonicity, tonus, tone

Example:
  • “the doctor tested my tonicity”
tone is the opposite of:
tone is a type of:
types of tone:
tone is derivationally related to:
  • to tone, tone up, strengthen (verb) - give a healthy elasticity to
  • tonic (adjective) - of or relating to or producing normal tone or tonus in muscles or tissue
Domain of synset - TOPIC:

9. a musical interval of two semitones.

tone, whole tone, step, whole step

tone is a type of:

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

tone

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”
tone is a type of:

Verb (5 meanings)

1. utter monotonously and repetitively and rhythmically.

to tone, chant, intone

Example:
  • “The students chanted the same slogan over and over again”
to tone is a way to:
to tone is derivationally related to:
  • chant (noun) - a repetitive song in which as many syllables as necessary are assigned to a single tone
  • intonation, chanting (noun) - the act of singing in a monotonous tone

2. vary the pitch of one's speech.

to tone, inflect, modulate

to tone is a way to:
to tone is derivationally related to:
  • intonation, modulation, pitch contour (noun) - rise and fall of the voice pitch
  • modulation, inflection (noun) - a manner of speaking in which the loudness or pitch or tone of the voice is modified
  • prosody, inflection (noun) - the patterns of stress and intonation in a language
  • timbre, timber, quality, tone (noun) - (music) the distinctive property of a complex sound (a voice or noise or musical sound)
  • tone (noun) - (linguistics) a pitch or change in pitch of the voice that serves to distinguish words in tonal languages

3. change the color or tone of.

to tone

Example:
  • “tone a negative”
to tone is a way to:
to tone is derivationally related to:
  • shade, tint, tincture, tone (noun) - a quality of a given color that differs slightly from another color
  • toner (noun) - a black or colored powder used in a printer to develop a xerographic image
  • toner (noun) - a solution containing chemicals that can change the color of a photographic print

4. change to a color image.

to tone

Example:
  • “tone a photographic image”
to tone is a way to:
to tone is derivationally related to:
  • shade, tint, tincture, tone (noun) - a quality of a given color that differs slightly from another color
  • toner (noun) - a solution containing chemicals that can change the color of a photographic print

5. give a healthy elasticity to.

to tone, tone up, strengthen

Example:
  • “Let's tone our muscles”
to tone is a way to:
to tone is derivationally related to:
  • tonicity, tonus, tone (noun) - the elastic tension of living muscles, arteries, etc. that facilitate response to stimuli