tone
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Related to tone: muscle tone
tone
 (tōn)n.
1. Music
a. A sound of distinct pitch, quality, and duration; a note.
b. The interval of a major second in the diatonic scale; a whole step.
c. A recitational melody in a Gregorian chant.
2.
a. The quality or character of sound.
b. The characteristic quality or timbre of a particular instrument or voice.
3.
a. The pitch of a word used to determine its meaning or to distinguish differences in meaning.
b. The particular or relative pitch of a word, phrase, or sentence.
4. Manner of expression in speech or writing: took an angry tone with the reporters.
5. A general quality, effect, or atmosphere: a room with an elegant tone.
6.
a. A color or shade of color: light tones of blue.
b. Quality of color: The green wallpaper had a particularly somber tone.
7. The general effect in painting of light, color, and shade.
8. Physiology
a. The normal state of elastic tension or partial contraction in resting muscles.
b. Normal firmness of a tissue or an organ.
v. toned, ton·ing, tones
v.tr.
1. To give a particular tone or inflection to.
2. To soften or change the color of (a painting or photographic negative, for example).
3. To sound monotonously; intone.
4. To make firmer or stronger. Often used with up: exercises that tone up the body.
v.intr.
Phrasal Verb: 1. To assume a particular color quality.
2. To harmonize in color.
tone down
To make less vivid, harsh, or violent; moderate.
[Middle English ton, from Old French, from Latin tonus, from Greek tonos, string, a stretching; see ten- in Indo-European roots.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
tone
(təʊn)n
1. sound with reference to quality, pitch, or volume
2. (Music, other) short for tone colour
3. (Music, other) US and Canadian another word for note10
4. (General Physics) (in acoustic analysis) a sound resulting from periodic or regular vibrations, composed either of a simple sinusoidal waveform (pure tone) or of several such waveforms superimposed upon one main one (compound tone)
5. (Classical Music) an interval of a major second; whole tone
6. (Music, other) Also called: Gregorian tone any of several plainsong melodies or other chants used in the singing of psalms
7. (Linguistics) linguistics any of the pitch levels or pitch contours at which a syllable may be pronounced, such as high tone, falling tone, etc
8. the quality or character of a sound: a nervous tone of voice.
9. general aspect, quality, or style: I didn't like the tone of his speech.
10. high quality or style: to lower the tone of a place.
11. (Colours) the quality of a given colour, as modified by mixture with white or black; shade; tint: a tone of red.
12. (Physiology) physiol
a. the normal tension of a muscle at rest
b. the natural firmness of the tissues and normal functioning of bodily organs in health
13. (Art Terms) the overall effect of the colour values and gradations of light and dark in a picture
14. (Photography) photog a colour or shade of colour, including black or grey, of a particular area on a negative or positive that can be distinguished from surrounding lighter or darker areas
vb
15. (often foll by: with) to be of a matching or similar tone (to): the curtains tone with the carpet.
16. (tr) to give a tone to or correct the tone of
17. (Photography) photog (tr) to soften or change the colour of the tones of (a photographic image) by chemical means
18. (Physiology) (tr) to give greater firmness or strength to (the body or a part of the body)
19. an archaic word for intone
[C14: from Latin tonus, from Greek tonos tension, tone, from teinein to stretch]
Tone
(təʊn)n
(Biography) (Theobald) Wolfe. 1763–98, Irish nationalist, who founded (1791) the Society of United Irishmen and led (1798) French military forces to Ireland. He was captured and sentenced to death but committed suicide
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
tone
(toʊn)n., v. toned, ton•ing. n.
1. any sound considered with reference to its quality, pitch, strength, source, etc.: shrill tones.
2. quality or character of sound.
3. vocal sound; the sound made by vibrating muscular bands in the larynx.
4. a particular quality, way of sounding, modulation, or intonation of the voice.
5. an accent peculiar to a person, people, locality, etc., or a characteristic mode of sounding words in speech.
6. a pitch or movement in pitch serving to distinguish two words otherwise composed of the same sounds, as in Chinese.
7. the pitch, relative pitch, or change in pitch of a syllable, word, phrase, etc.
8.
a. a musical sound of definite pitch, consisting of several partial tones, the lowest being the fundamental and the others the harmonics or overtones.
b. whole step.
9. a quality of color with reference to the degree of absorption or reflection of light; a tint or shade; value.
10. a slight modification of a given color; hue.
11. the prevailing effect of harmony of color and values.
12.
a. the normal state of tension or responsiveness of the organs or tissues of the body.
b. that state of the body or of an organ in which all its functions are performed with healthy vigor.
13.
a. a normal healthy mental condition.
b. a particular mental state or disposition.
14. a particular style or manner, as of writing or speech; mood.
15. prevailing character or style, as of manners, morals, or philosophical outlook: the liberal tone of the 1960s.
16. style, distinction, or elegance.
v.t. 17. to sound with a particular tone.
18. to give the proper tone to (a musical instrument).
19. to modify the tone or general coloring of.
20. to give the desired tone to (a painting, drawing, etc.).
21. to render as specified in tone or coloring.
22. to modify the tone or character of.
23. to give or restore physical or mental tone to.
v.i. 24. to take on a particular tone; assume color or tint.
25. tone down,
a. to become or cause to become softened or moderated.
b. to make (a painted color) less intense in hue; subdue.
26. tone up,
a. to give a higher or stronger tone to.
b. to gain or cause to gain in tone or strength.
[1275–1325; Middle English (n.) < Latin tonus < Greek tónos cord, band, pitch, tone, derivative of teÃnein to stretch]
tone′less, adj.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
tone
- A color variation with more variations than a shade—having to do with the value (brightness) of a hue (position in the spectrum) or its chroma (saturation or purity).See also related terms for hue.
Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.
tone
Each distinguishable shade variation from black to white on imagery.
Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms. US Department of Defense 2005.
tone
Past participle: toned
Gerund: toning
| Imperative |
|---|
| tone |
| tone |
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
tone
The quality or value of color, e.g. warm or cold tones.
Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Noun | 1. |  tone - the quality of a person's voice; "he began in a conversational tone"; "he spoke in a nervous tone of voice"manner of speaking, delivery, speech - your characteristic style or manner of expressing yourself orally; "his manner of speaking was quite abrupt"; "her speech was barren of southernisms"; "I detected a slight accent in his speech" note - a tone of voice that shows what the speaker is feeling; "there was a note of uncertainty in his voice" roundness, rotundity - the fullness of a tone of voice; "there is a musky roundness to his wordiness" undertone - a quiet or hushed tone of voice; "spoke in undertones" |
| 2. |  tone - (linguistics) a pitch or change in pitch of the voice that serves to distinguish words in tonal languages; "the Beijing dialect uses four tones"pitch - the property of sound that varies with variation in the frequency of vibration linguistics - the scientific study of language | |
| 3. |  tone - (music) the distinctive property of a complex sound (a voice or noise or musical sound); "the timbre of her soprano was rich and lovely"; "the muffled tones of the broken bell summoned them to meet"sound property - an attribute of sound harmonic - any of a series of musical tones whose frequencies are integral multiples of the frequency of a fundamental resonance - the quality imparted to voiced speech sounds by the action of the resonating chambers of the throat and mouth and nasal cavities coloration, colouration, color, colour - the timbre of a musical sound; "the recording fails to capture the true color of the original music" nasality - a quality of the voice that is produced by nasal resonators plangency, reverberance, sonority, sonorousness, vibrancy, ringing, resonance - having the character of a loud deep sound; the quality of being resonant register - (music) the timbre that is characteristic of a certain range and manner of production of the human voice or of different pipe organ stops or of different musical instruments music - an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner | |
| 4. |  tone - the general atmosphere of a place or situation and the effect that it has on people; "the feel of the city excited him"; "a clergyman improved the tone of the meeting"; "it had the smell of treason"ambiance, ambience, atmosphere - a particular environment or surrounding influence; "there was an atmosphere of excitement" Hollywood - a flashy vulgar tone or atmosphere believed to be characteristic of the American film industry; "some people in publishing think of theirs as a glamorous medium so they copy the glitter of Hollywood" Zeitgeist - the spirit of the time; the spirit characteristic of an age or generation | |
| 5. |  tone - a quality of a given color that differs slightly from another color; "after several trials he mixed the shade of pink that she wanted"color, coloring, colouring, colour - a visual attribute of things that results from the light they emit or transmit or reflect; "a white color is made up of many different wavelengths of light" mellowness - a soft shade of a color; "a mellowness of light and shade not attainable in marble" richness - a strong deep vividness of hue; "the fire-light gave a richness of coloring to that side of the room" | |
| 6. |  tone - a notation representing the pitch and duration of a musical sound; "the singer held the note too long"musical notation - (music) notation used by musicians musical scale, scale - (music) a series of notes differing in pitch according to a specific scheme (usually within an octave) supertonic - (music) the second note of a diatonic scale mediant - (music) the third note of a diatonic scale; midway between the tonic and the dominant subdominant - (music) the fourth note of the diatonic scale dominant - (music) the fifth note of the diatonic scale submediant - (music) the sixth note of a major or minor scale (or the third below the tonic) leading tone, subtonic - (music) the seventh note of the diatonic scale pedal, pedal point - a sustained bass note middle C - the note designated by the first ledger line below the treble staff; 261.63 hertz chord - a combination of three or more notes that blend harmoniously when sounded together passing note, passing tone - a nonharmonic note inserted for transition between harmonic notes semibreve, whole note - a musical note having the longest time value (equal to four beats in common time) quarter note, crotchet - a musical note having the time value of a quarter of a whole note eighth note, quaver - a musical note having the time value of an eighth of a whole note semiquaver, sixteenth note - a musical note having the time value of a sixteenth of a whole note demisemiquaver, thirty-second note - a musical note having the time value of a thirty-second of a whole note hemidemisemiquaver, sixty-fourth note - a musical note having the time value of a sixty-fourth of a whole note blue note - a flattened third or seventh monotone - a single tone repeated with different words or different rhythms (especially in rendering liturgical texts) | |
| 7. | tone - a steady sound without overtones; "they tested his hearing with pure tones of different frequencies" auditory sensation, sound - the subjective sensation of hearing something; "he strained to hear the faint sounds" harmonic - a tone that is a component of a complex sound | |
| 8. |  tone - the elastic tension of living muscles, arteries, etc. that facilitate response to stimuli; "the doctor tested my tonicity"muscular tissue, muscle - animal tissue consisting predominantly of contractile cells tautness, tenseness, tensity, tension - the physical condition of being stretched or strained; "it places great tension on the leg muscles"; "he could feel the tenseness of her body" catatonia - extreme tonus; muscular rigidity; a common symptom in catatonic schizophrenia muscle tone, muscular tonus - normal tonicity of the muscles; "exercise improves muscle tone" myotonia - abnormally long muscular contractions; slow relaxation of a muscle after a contraction | |
| 9. | tone - a musical interval of two semitones musical interval, interval - the difference in pitch between two notes | |
| 10. | tone - the quality of something (an act or a piece of writing) that reveals the attitudes and presuppositions of the author; "the general tone of articles appearing in the newspapers is that the government should withdraw"; "from the tone of her behavior I gathered that I had outstayed my welcome" quality - an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone; "the quality of mercy is not strained"--Shakespeare | |
| Verb | 1. | tone - utter monotonously and repetitively and rhythmically; "The students chanted the same slogan over and over again" |
| 2. | tone - vary the pitch of one's speech | |
| 3. | tone - change the color or tone of; "tone a negative" | |
| 4. | tone - change to a color image; "tone a photographic image" | |
| 5. |  tone - give a healthy elasticity to; "Let's tone our muscles" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
tone
noun
1. pitch, stress, volume, accent, force, strength, emphasis, inflection, intonation, timbre, modulation, tonality He spoke in a low tone to her.
verb
1. harmonize, match, blend, suit, go well with Her sister toned with her in a turquoise print dress.
tone something down
1. moderate, temper, soften, restrain, subdue, play down, dampen, mitigate, modulate, soft-pedal (informal) He toned down his militant statement after the meeting.
tone something up get into condition, trim, shape up, freshen, tune up, sharpen up, limber up, invigorate, get in shape Regular exercise will tone up your stomach muscles.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
tone
noun1. A sound of distinct pitch and quality:
2. A particular vocal quality that indicates some emotion or feeling:
Idiom: tone of voice.
4. A general impression produced by a predominant quality or characteristic:
6. The property by which the sense of vision can distinguish between objects, as a red apple and a green apple, that are very similar or identical in form and size:
tone down
1. To make less emphatic or obvious:
Informal: soft-pedal.
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
دَرَجَة اللوْنصَلابَهطَبقَة الصَّوْتنَغْمَه، طَنينيَنْسَجÙÙ… مَع
ladittóntonuszvuk
toneharmonereheltoneklangnuance
äänensävyääninuottitooni
szÃnben összeilliktónus
fara viîgott lÃkamlegt ástandheiltónnlitbrigîi, tónntónn
stangrumastonalus
harmonÄ“tiederÄ“tiesnokrÄsapieskaņotiestonis
tonus
tonzvoÄni signal
tontona
âm sắcgiá»ngnốtsắctiếng
tone
[təʊn]A. N
1. (Mus) → tono m
2. [of voice] → tono m
in an angry tone → en tono de enojo
in low tones → en tono bajo
they were whispering in low tones → cuchicheaban
tone of voice → tono m de voz
to praise sb in ringing tones → poner a algn por las nubes
in an angry tone → en tono de enojo
in low tones → en tono bajo
they were whispering in low tones → cuchicheaban
tone of voice → tono m de voz
to praise sb in ringing tones → poner a algn por las nubes
3. (Telec) → señal f
dialling tone → señal f para marcar
please speak after the tone (Telec) → por favor, hable después de oÃr la señal
dialling tone → señal f para marcar
please speak after the tone (Telec) → por favor, hable después de oÃr la señal
5. (= tendency) → tono m, nota f; [of speech, article] → tono m, cariz m
the tone of the market (Fin) → la nota dominante del mercado, el tono del mercado
the tone of the market (Fin) → la nota dominante del mercado, el tono del mercado
D. CPD tone colour, tone color (US) N (Mus) → timbre m
tone control N → control m de tonalidad
tone language N → lengua f tonal
tone poem N → poema m sinfónico
tone control N → control m de tonalidad
tone language N → lengua f tonal
tone poem N → poema m sinfónico
tone down VT + ADV (= moderate) [+ colour] → atenuar, suavizar; [+ noise] → reducir, disminuir (fig) [+ language, criticism etc] → moderar
tone up VT + ADV [+ muscles] → tonificar, fortalecer
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
tone
[ˈtəʊn] n
(= quality of sound) → son m
the clear tone of the bell → le son clair de la cloche
in low tones → Ã voix basse
the clear tone of the bell → le son clair de la cloche
in low tones → Ã voix basse
(= mood) [letter, speech] → ton m
The tone of the letter was very friendly → Le ton de la lettre était très amical.
The tone of the letter was very friendly → Le ton de la lettre était très amical.
(= shade) [colour] → ton m
You need a blue that's slightly deeper in tone → Il vous faudrait un bleu d'un ton légèrement plus profond.
The room was painted in tones of pink
BUT La pièce était peinte en camaïeu rose.
You need a blue that's slightly deeper in tone → Il vous faudrait un bleu d'un ton légèrement plus profond.
The room was painted in tones of pink
BUT La pièce était peinte en camaïeu rose.
(on phone line) → tonalité f; (on answering machine) → bip m sonore
Please leave your message after the tone → Laissez votre message après le bip sonore.
the dialling tone → la tonalité
the engaged tone → la tonalité occupé, la tonalité occupée
Please leave your message after the tone → Laissez votre message après le bip sonore.
the dialling tone → la tonalité
the engaged tone → la tonalité occupé, la tonalité occupée
to lower the tone of sth → déparer qch
vi
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
tone
n
(of sound, = tone of voice, Phon) → Ton m; (= quality of sound) → Klang m; the soft tones of a flute → die sanften Töne einer Flöte; the soft tones of her voice → der sanfte Klang ihrer Stimme; … he said in a friendly tone → … sagte er in freundlichem Ton; I don’t like your tone (of voice) → mir gefällt dein Ton nicht; don’t speak to me in that tone (of voice) → in diesem Ton kannst du mit mir nicht reden
(of colour) → (Farb)ton m
(fig: = mood, character) → Ton m; what was the tone of his letter? → wie war denn der Ton seines Briefes?; the new people have lowered/raised the tone of the neighbourhood → die neuen Leute haben dem Ansehen or Ruf des Viertels geschadet/das Ansehen or den Ruf des Viertels verbessert; of course, Trevor had to lower the tone (of the conversation) → Trevor musste natürlich ausfallend werden
(Physiol) → Tonus m (spec)
vt
(Phot, = tint) → einfärben, tonen (spec)
body, muscles → in Form bringen
vi (colours) → (im Farbton) harmonieren
tone
:tone arm
n → Tonarm m
tone colour, (US) tone color
n (Mus) → Klangfarbe f
tone control
n → Klangfarbeneinstellung f, → Tonblende f
tone
:tone-deaf
tone language
n → Tonsprache f, → Tonhöhensprache f
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
tone
[təʊn]1. n (gen) → tono; (of colour) → tonalità f inv; (of musical instrument) → timbro
dialling (Brit) or dial (Am) tone (Telec) → segnale m di libero
to praise sb in ringing tones (fig) → portare qn alle stelle
they were speaking in low tones → parlavano a voce bassa
two tones of red → due tonalità di rosso
to raise/lower the tone of sth → migliorare/abbassare il tono di qc
dialling (Brit) or dial (Am) tone (Telec) → segnale m di libero
to praise sb in ringing tones (fig) → portare qn alle stelle
they were speaking in low tones → parlavano a voce bassa
two tones of red → due tonalità di rosso
to raise/lower the tone of sth → migliorare/abbassare il tono di qc
2. vi (also tone in) (colours) → intonarsi
tone up vt + adv (muscles) → tonificare
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
tone
(təun) noun1. (the quality of) a sound, especially a voice. He spoke in a low/angry/gentle tone; He told me about it in tones of disapproval; That singer/violin/piano has very good tone.
2. a shade of colour. various tones of green.
3. firmness of body or muscle. Your muscles lack tone – you need exercise.
4. in music, one of the larger intervals in an octave eg between C and D.
verb to fit in well; to blend. The brown sofa tones (in) well with the walls.
ˈtonal adjective of musical tones.
ˈtoneless adjective without tone; with no variation in sound etc. She spoke in a toneless voice.
ˈtonelessly adverbtone down
to make or become softer, less harsh etc. He toned down some of his criticisms.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
tone
n. tono.
1. grado normal de vigor y tensión en el funcionamiento de los órganos y músculos de un cuerpo sano;
muscular ___ → ___ muscular
2. cualidad definida de un sonido o voz.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
tone
n tono; muscle — tono muscular; vt (one's muscles) tonificar (los músculos)English-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.