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intonation

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The definition of intonation is the way the pitch of your voice goes up and down as you talk or reciting something by singing it.

(noun)

An example of intonation is the way your voice raises in pitch at the end of a question.
An example oif intonation is the Gregorian chant.

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See intonation in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

the act of intoning
the quality of singing or playing tones in or out of tune with regard to a given standard of pitch
1. the opening words of a Gregorian chant
2. the singing of these
Linguis.
1. the system of significant levels and variations in pitch sequences within an utterance
2. the type of pitch used at the end of a spoken sentence or phrase: to ask a question with a rising intonation

Origin: ML intonatio

Related Forms:

intonational adjective

See intonation in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun

a. The act of intoning or chanting.
b. An intoned utterance.
A manner of producing or uttering tones, especially with regard to accuracy of pitch.
Linguistics The use of changing pitch to convey syntactic information: a questioning intonation.
A use of pitch characteristic of a speaker or dialect: “He could hear authority, the old parish intonation coming back into his voice” (Graham Greene).
Music The opening phrase of a plainsong composition sung as a solo part.

Related Forms:

inˌto·naˈtion·al adjective

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