Meaning of 'tone'

noun

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

Synonyms: shade

noun

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

Example: "The Beijing dialect uses four tones."

noun

in music, the distinctive property of a complex sound such as a voice, noise or musical sound

Example: "Your guitar has wicked tone."

Synonyms: timber

noun

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

Example: "the general tone of articles appearing in the newspapers is that the government should withdraw"

noun

a steady sound without overtones

Example: "They tested your hearing with pure tones of different frequencies."

Synonyms: pure tone

noun

a musical interval of two semitones

Synonyms: step

noun

a notation representing the pitch and duration of a musical sound

Synonyms: note

noun

the quality of a person's voice

Example: "They began in a conversational tone."

Synonyms: tone of voice

noun

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

Synonyms: feeling

noun

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

Synonyms: tonicity

verb

give a healthy elasticity to

Example: "Let's tone our muscles"

Synonyms: tone up strengthen

verb

change to a color image

Example: "tone a photographic image"

verb

change the color or tone of

Example: "tone a negative"

verb

vary the pitch of one's speech

Synonyms: modulate inflect

verb

utter monotonously and repetitively and rhythmically

Synonyms: chant intone