tone

CEFRB1

/ˈtəʊn/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    The quality or character of a sound or voice.

  2. 02

    noun

    A general feeling or attitude in speech or writing.

Examples

  • His stern tone and loud voice belied his inner sensitivity and caring nature.

  • There was a barely veiled hostility in her tone.

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • [ˈtʰon]
  • [ˈtʰoʊ̯n]

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. A particular shade or quality of color.

  2. (in a Gregorian chant) A recitational melody.

  3. (in the diatonic scale) An interval of a major second.

More examples

In context

  • There was a sudden change in her tone.

  • Children often read with a tone.

  • c. 1714 (undated), Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke, letter to Alexander Pope The strange situation I am in and the melancholy state of public affairs, […] drag the mind down […] from a philosophical tone or temper, to the drudgery of private and publi...

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

Her voice had a gentle blank that calmed everyone in the room.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English ton, tone, from Latin tonus (“sound, tone”) (possibly through Old French ton), from Ancient Greek τόνος (tónos, “strain, tension, pitch”), from τείνω (teínō, “to stretch”). Doublet of tune, ton, tonos, and tonus.