Tone Definition
tōn
toned, tones, toning
noun
tones
A vocal or musical sound.
Webster's New World
A certain attitude on the part of a speaker or writer conveyed by way of word choice, sentence structure, etc.
The friendly tone of her letter.
Webster's New World
An intonation, pitch, modulation, etc. of the voice that expresses a particular meaning or feeling of the speaker.
A tone of contempt.
Webster's New World
Normal resilience or elasticity.
Rubber that has lost its tone.
Webster's New World
Its quality.
Webster's New World
Antonyms:
- atonicity
verb
toned, tones, toning
Webster's New World
To give a tone to; specif., to give the proper or desired tone to (a musical instrument, a painting, etc.)
Webster's New World
To assume a tone.
Webster's New World
To sound monotonously; intone.
American Heritage
To change or alter the color of (a print) by chemical means.
Webster's New World
pronoun
(now dialectal) The one (of two).
Wiktionary
idiom
tone down
- to give a lower or less intense tone to
- to become softened
Webster's New World
tone in with
- to harmonize with
Webster's New World
tone up
- to give a higher or more intense tone to
- to become strengthened or heightened
Webster's New World
Other Word Forms of Tone
Noun
Singular:
tone
Plural:
tonesOrigin of Tone
-
From Middle English tone, ton, toon, from the incorrect division of thet one (“the/that one"). Compare Scots tane in the tane; see also tother.
From Wiktionary
-
From French ton, from Latin tonus (“sound, tone"), from Ancient Greek τόνος (tonos, “strain, tension, pitch"), from τείνω (teinō, “I stretch")
From Wiktionary
-
Middle English ton from Old French from Latin tonus from Greek tonos string, a stretching ten- in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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