Synonyms for tone
toʊntone

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:3.5 / 4 votes

1. tone

   Sound is the sensation produced through the organs of hearing or the physical cause of this sensation. Sound is the most comprehensive word of this group, applying to anything that is audible. Tone is sound considered as having some musical quality or as expressive of some feeling; noise is sound considered without reference to musical quality or as distinctly unmusical or discordant. Thus, in the most general sense noise and sound scarcely differ, and we say almost indifferently, "I heard a sound," or "I heard a noise." We speak of a fine, musical, or pleasing sound, but never thus of a noise. In music, tone may denote either a musical sound or the interval between two such sounds, but in the most careful usage the latter is now distinguished as the "interval," leaving tone to stand only for the sound. Note in music strictly denotes the character representing a sound, but in loose popular usage it denotes the sound also, and becomes practically equivalent to tone. Aside from its musical use, tone is chiefly applied to that quality of the human voice by which feeling is expressed; as, he spoke in a cheery tone; the word is similarly applied to the voices of birds and other animals, and sometimes to inanimate objects. As used of a musical instrument, tone denotes the general quality of its sounds collectively considered.

   Synonyms:
   noise, note, sound

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:1.8 / 12 votes

1. tone

   Synonyms:
   pitch, loudness, mood, intonation, sound, temper, tenor, character, drift, effect

   Antonyms:
   atony, laxity, tunelessness

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:1.3 / 4 votes

1. tone, tone of voicenoun

   the quality of a person's voice

   "he began in a conversational tone"; "he spoke in a nervous tone of voice"

   Synonyms:
   note, shade, smell, tone of voice, flavour, whole tone, quality, timbre, feel, feeling, flavor, timber, look, tint, tincture, tonus, spirit, whole step, tonicity, step, pure tone, musical note

2. tonenoun

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

   "the Beijing dialect uses four tones"

   Synonyms:
   note, shade, smell, tone of voice, flavour, whole tone, quality, timbre, feel, feeling, flavor, timber, look, tint, tincture, tonus, spirit, whole step, tonicity, step, pure tone, musical note

3. timbre, timber, quality, tonenoun

   (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"

   Synonyms:
   note, shade, smell, tone of voice, caliber, tonicity, lineament, quality, feel, feeling, flavor, timber, look, tint, lumber, tonus, flavour, spirit, whole step, tincture, timberland, pure tone, step, forest, whole tone, character, woodland, timbre, calibre, musical note

4. spirit, tone, feel, feeling, flavor, flavour, look, smellnoun

   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"

   Synonyms:
   looking at, pure tone, touch, tactile property, life, timber, look, olfactory perception, timbre, sprightliness, step, tone of voice, smell, olfactory property, aspect, disembodied spirit, savor, feel, quality, tactile sensation, whole tone, impression, touch sensation, scent, aroma, savour, opinion, belief, olfactory sensation, sense of smell, facial expression, odour, shade, spirit, emotional state, tonicity, sapidity, whole step, olfaction, flavour, heart, smack, tang, olfactory modality, odor, tonus, tincture, intent, feeling, tactual sensation, expression, notion, intuitive feeling, purport, relish, looking, flavor, face, musical note, liveliness, smelling, tint, note

5. shade, tint, tincture, tonenoun

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

   "after several trials he mixed the shade of pink that she wanted"

   Synonyms:
   pure tone, spook, whole step, timber, look, wraith, timbre, step, smell, feel, quality, shadow, shadiness, nuance, tonicity, ghost, subtlety, shadowiness, vestige, spirit, tincture, tad, tone of voice, flavour, note, whole tone, tonus, feeling, spectre, trace, flavor, nicety, refinement, specter, musical note, tint, shade

6. note, musical note, tonenoun

   a notation representing the pitch and duration of a musical sound

   "the singer held the note too long"

   Synonyms:
   bank bill, pure tone, billet, notation, bank note, note of hand, timber, look, distinction, timbre, step, tone of voice, smell, preeminence, greenback, quality, eminence, banknote, tonicity, annotation, whole step, promissory note, spirit, bill, banker's bill, feel, short letter, flavour, note, whole tone, tonus, line, tincture, feeling, flavor, musical note, government note, tint, shade

7. tone, pure tonenoun

   a steady sound without overtones

   "they tested his hearing with pure tones of different frequencies"

   Synonyms:
   note, shade, smell, tone of voice, flavour, whole tone, quality, timbre, feel, feeling, flavor, timber, look, tint, tincture, tonus, spirit, whole step, tonicity, step, pure tone, musical note

8. tonicity, tonus, tonenoun

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

   "the doctor tested my tonicity"

   Synonyms:
   note, shade, smell, tone of voice, flavour, whole tone, quality, feel, feeling, flavor, timber, look, tint, tincture, tonus, spirit, whole step, tonicity, step, pure tone, timbre, musical note

9. tone, whole tone, step, whole stepnoun

   a musical interval of two semitones

   Synonyms:
   pure tone, quality, footprint, measure, look, timbre, footfall, step, tone of voice, smell, stride, dance step, feel, timber, whole tone, note, footstep, pace, spirit, tonicity, gradation, whole step, footmark, flavour, stone's throw, stair, tonus, tincture, feeling, flavor, musical note, tint, shade

10. toneverb

    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"

    Synonyms:
    note, shade, smell, tone of voice, flavour, whole tone, quality, timbre, feel, feeling, flavor, timber, look, tint, tincture, tonus, spirit, whole step, tonicity, step, pure tone, musical note

11. tone, chant, intoneverb

    utter monotonously and repetitively and rhythmically

    "The students chanted the same slogan over and over again"

    Synonyms:
    intone, tone up, strengthen, inflect, intonate, modulate, cantillate, chant

12. tone, inflect, modulateverb

    vary the pitch of one's speech

    Synonyms:
    intone, tone up, strengthen, inflect, modulate, regulate, chant

13. toneverb

    change the color or tone of

    "tone a negative"

    Synonyms:
    inflect, intone, tone up, strengthen, modulate, chant

14. toneverb

    change to a color image

    "tone a photographic image"

    Synonyms:
    inflect, intone, tone up, strengthen, modulate, chant

15. tone, tone up, strengthenverb

    give a healthy elasticity to

    "Let's tone our muscles"

    Synonyms:
    intone, tone up, strengthen, inflect, fortify, modulate, beef up, chant

Matched Categories

1. • Atmosphere
   • Color
   • Discolor
   • Interval
   • Linguistics
   • Pitch
   • Talk

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. tonenoun

   Synonyms:
   sound, note

2. tonenoun

   Synonyms:
   accent, intonation, emphasis, cadence, modulation

3. tonenoun

   Synonyms:
   temper, mood, state of mind

4. tonenoun

   Synonyms:
   vigor, strength, energy, force, tension, elasticity

5. tonenoun

   Synonyms:
   prevailing color (of a picture), general effect, style, manner, cast

6. tonenoun

   Synonyms:
   tenor, drift, prevailing character, spirit

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. tonenoun

   Synonyms:
   sound, note, cadence, modulation, force, vigor, energy

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "tone":

   ringtone, tono, tom, your, tonne, tones, tonal, tonos, tenor, hue, tuna, keynote, tony, beep, undertone, pitch

Suggested Resources

1. tone

   Song lyrics by tone -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by tone on the Lyrics.com website.

2. TONE

   What does TONE stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the TONE acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.

How to pronounce tone?

How to say tone in sign language?

Words popularity by usage frequency

How to use tone in a sentence?

1. Donald Trump:

   I will have a very much different tone tonight, and I'd have a much different tone, frankly, if the press was even-handed, if the press was fair. I'd have a much different tone all the time. But I'm fighting the media.

2. Max Fried:

   Jorge came up with the power to kind of put us ahead, he just kind of handed it to the next guy. Our lineup is really deep right now. One through eight can beat you on a long ball or base hit. They came out and set the tone striking early. It allowed me to go out there with a little less pressure.

3. Desiree Andrade:

   That press conference was an embarrassment. George Gascon is completely tone-deaf to the impact his policies are having on victims and public safety.

4. Cecile Richards:

   Our top priority is the compassionate care that we provide. In the video, one of our staff members speaks in a way that does not reflect that compassion. This is unacceptable, and I personally apologize for the staff member's tone and statements, as always, if there is any aspect of our work that can be strengthened, we want to know about it, and we take swift action to address it.

5. Bryden Teich:

   The change of tone from the Bank of Canada last week was definitely a positive sign, things have maybe stabilized a little bit.