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Overtone definition

ōvər-tōn
overtones
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An ulterior, usually implicit meaning or quality; an implication or a hint.

An overtone of anger barely masked; praise with overtones of envy.

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(acoustics, music) Any of the attendant higher tones heard with a fundamental tone produced by the vibration of a given string or column of air, having a frequency of vibration that is an exact multiple of the frequency of the fundamental.
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(physics, music) A tone whose frequency is an integer multiple of another; a harmonic.
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An implicit message (in a film, book, verbal discussion or similar) perceived as overwhelming the explicit message. See undertone.
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An implication; nuance.

A reply full of overtones.

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Other Word Forms

Noun

Singular:
overtone
Plural:
overtones

Origin of overtone

Overtone Sentence Examples

  • The first overtone of the second will beat 64 times per second with the third of the first, and at such height in the scale this frequency will be unpleasant.

  • Unlike the lustrous shades of chocolate colored pearls, natural brown pearls are a warm black-brown color and sometimes have a very slight coppery colored overtone.

  • Thus, suppose a fundamental 256 has present with it overtone harmonics 512, 768, 1024, 1280, &c., and that we sound with it the major seventh with fundamental 480, and having harmonics 960, 1440, &c. The two sets may be arranged thus c 256 512 768 1024 1280 h 480 960 1440, and we see that the fundamental of the second will beat 32 times per second with the first overtone of the first, giving dissonance.

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