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   Tone

   /tōn/

   

   noun

   • 1. a musical or vocal sound with reference to its pitch, quality, and strength: "the piano tone appears monochrome or lacking in warmth" Similar timbresoundsound qualityvoicevoice qualitycolortone colortonalityresonancering
   • ▪ a modulation of the voice expressing a particular feeling or mood: "a firm tone of voice" Similar intonationtone of voicemode of expressionexpressioninflectionpitchmodulationaccentuation
   • ▪ a musical note, warble, or other sound used as a particular signal on a telephone or answering machine. Similar notebeepbleepmeepwhinebuzzwarbleburrsignal
   • 2. the general character or attitude of a place, piece of writing, situation, etc.: "my friend and I lowered the tone with our oafish ways" Similar moodqualityfeelstylenoteairattitudecharacterspiritflavorgraintemperhumoreffecttenorveindriftgist
   • ▪ an atmosphere of respectability or class: informal "they don't feel he gives the place tone"
   • 3. a basic interval in classical Western music, equal to two semitones and separating, for example, the first and second notes of an ordinary scale (such as C and D, or E and F sharp); a major second or whole step: "the B flat clarinet's part is written one tone higher than the pitch required"
   • 4. the particular quality of brightness, deepness, or hue of a tint or shade of a color: "stained glass in vivid tones of red and blue" Similar tintshadecolorhuetingecasttincture
   • ▪ the general effect of color or of light and shade in a picture.
   • ▪ a slight degree of difference in the intensity of a color.
   • 5. (in some languages, such as Chinese) a particular pitch pattern on a syllable used to make semantic distinctions.
   • ▪ (in some languages, such as English) intonation on a word or phrase used to add functional meaning.
   • 6. the normal level of firmness or slight contraction in a resting muscle: "a reduction of muscle tone"
   • ▪ the normal level of activity in a nerve fiber: "vagal tone"

   verb

   • 1. give greater strength or firmness to (the body or a muscle): "push-ups help tone your abs"
   • 2. give (a monochrome picture) an altered color in finishing by means of a chemical solution: "it's a good idea to sepia tone the whole print first"

   Word Origin Middle English: from Old French ton, from Latin tonus, from Greek tonos ‘tension, tone’, from teinein ‘to stretch’.

   Scrabble Points: 4

   • T

     1

   • O

     1

   • N

     1

   • E

     1

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