tone

noun

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

a musical interval of two semitones

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

a steady sound without overtones

a notation representing the pitch and duration of a musical sound

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

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

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

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

the quality of a person's voice

verb

give a healthy elasticity to

change to a color image

change the color or tone of

vary the pitch of one's speech

utter monotonously and repetitively and rhythmically

Roots

tonostone- · Greek · pitch, tension

Synonyms for tone

timbren tonicityn tonusn tonalityn modulatev tintv intonationn overtonen sonorityn shaden

Synonyms & related words for tone

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of tone — including timbre, tonicity, tonus, tonality, modulate, tint. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to tone

Explore words related to tone — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include subtone, tonetic, eigentone, homotonous, tonally, tonepad, multitone, upstep. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for tone

Common synonyms for tone include timbre, tonicity, tonus, tonality, modulate, tint, intonation, overtone — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does tone come from?

The word tone breaks down into one root of Greek origin: the root tone-, from Greek tonos (“pitch, tension”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.