high-tonedadj.n.
/ˌhʌɪˈtəʊnd/, U.S. /ˈhaɪˈˌtoʊnd/ 1. Having a high vocal or musical tone; high-pitched.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > pitch > [adjective] > high
higha1393
high-pitched1597
high-set1603
high-pitch1614
high-tuned1623
high-toned1754
high-keyed1830
upper1843
1754 P. Delany Observ. Ld. Orrery's Remarks Swift iv. 42 He read Prayers..in a voice, sharp, and high-toned, rather than harmonious.
1763 J. Langhorne Genius & Valour 9 The high-ton'd Music of a happier Hand.
1781 S. Johnson Swift in Pref. Wks. Eng. Poets VIII. 90 His voice was sharp and high-toned, rather than harmonious.
1811 R. Bloomfield Banks of Wye iii. 71 No high-ton'd clarion sounds alarms.
1897 E. Soldene My Theatr. & Mus. Recoll. iv. 40 She sang very high-toned German Lieder, in a very high-toned voice.
1921 F. S. Mathews Field Bk. Wild Birds & their Music (rev. ed.) 283 One will hear only a few high-toned, tsipping notes of this winter visitor among the bleak sand dunes.
2010 C. V. Hill Tap Dancing Amer. i. 7 Clog shoes made high-toned trilling taps.
2. Chiefly U.S.
a. Expressing elevated sentiments; having a high moral tone; high-principled. Also: having dignified or superior manners; refined, genteel. Occasionally also as n. (with the and plural agreement): high-toned people as a class. Cf. high-tone adj. 1.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > virtue > morally elevated quality > [adjective]
kindly1340
heroical?a1475
heroicc1550
high-set1597
fine1598
unbase1601
exalteda1616
noblea1616
spiritful1631
raised1662
high-toned1770
lofty1776
etherealized1846
upward1850
unsordid1857
high-tone1864
the mind > emotion > pride > pretension to superiority > [adjective]
taunt?a1534
cocket1537
fastuous?1591
cobbing1599
whalebone1602
airy1606
fastigious1625
flatuous1630
high and mighty1633
vapouring1647
flatulent1658
hoity-toity1690
jackanapish1696
superior1711
penseful1788
uppish1789
pensy1790
stuck-up1812
glorified1821
toploftical1823
pretentious1832
sophomoric1837
highty-tighty1847
snippy1848
jumped-up1852
set-up1856
toplofty1859
cock-aloft1861
high-tone1864
high-toned1866
pretensivea1868
fancy-pants1870
hunched1870
snotty1870
head-in-air1880
uppity1880
jackanapsian1881
airified1882
sidey1898
posh1914
upstage1918
snooty1919
high-hatted1924
hincty1924
snot-nosed1941
posho1989
1770 C. Fearne Impartial Answer Doctr. 30 Every engine of discord, every incentive of sedition, rolled through a high-toned succession of exulting periods.
1792 T. Jefferson Let. 9 Sept. in T. Jefferson Papers (1990) XXIV. 354 The Secretary of the treasury..by high toned declamation..has forced down his own system.
1807 in Western Pennsylvania Hist. Mag. (1947) Mar. 56 The same editor also states that there were ‘no Demo-Republicans in it, all high-toned gentlemen’.
1815 W. Scott Lord of Isles ii. viii. 50 In whose high-toned impartial mind Degrees of mortal rank and state Seem objects of indifferent weight.
1856 R. W. Emerson Eng. Traits xii. 209 It is contended..that the public sentiment within each of those schools is high-toned and manly.
1866 Washoe (Nevada) Eastern Slope 11 Aug. 2/2 It is [necessary] when the high toned meet..for the purpose of cutting off debate, that they should be ready to raise the previous question at any moment.
1888 A. C. Gunter Mr. Potter iv. xxiii. 278 The Democratic Party thought Sampson Potter a more high-toned name to run for Congress than Sammy Potts.
1932 L. Berg Prison Doctor xi. 146 Who the hell do you think you are, putting on the Ritz just as if you was a high-toned society dame.
1994 R. Hendrickson Happy Trails 7 When the high-toned ladies were present, we called a bull an animal.
b. colloquial. Of or characteristic of refined or high-class people; of superior quality; stylish, tasteful; (in negative sense) pretentious, snobbish. Cf. tony adj. 1.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > good taste > attractive or impressive quality > [adjective]
high-toned1845
toffish1873
tony1877
stylish1892
fly1980
dope1981
1845 E. Stone Chrons. Fashion II. i. 4 Her Court..presented to the world some engaging examples of high-toned fashion.
1875 Ledger (San Francisco) 25 Aug. 1/4 He purchased 30 gallons of this high toned whisky and returned to his club rejoicing.
1901 J. Kankakee Aunt Lucy's Cabin ii. 73 You are going to have a high-toned party, I believe.
1920 Cosmopolitan Mar. 161/1 Just get those high-toned notions out of your head. We're simple people, not swells.
1956 W. H. Auden Old Man's Road The smart Crescent of a high-toned suburb.
2004 P. Biskind Down & Dirty Pictures viii. 277 The Weinsteins would provide a steady diet of high-toned, Masterpiece Theater-style, Oscar-grabbing pictures.
3. Highly strung, tense. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > excitement > nervous excitement > tension > [adjective]
tautc1275
rigid?a1425
high-strung1653
wound-up1788
stretched1799
high-toned1804
overstrung1810
intense1817
tense1821
high-tuned1827
screwed-up1829
twittery1840
high-keyed1848
strung-up1853
strained1863
tensioned1872
twitchy1874
keyed-up1885
tensed1911
uptight1934
wired1970
1804 A. Seward Mem. Dr. Darwin 49 His high-toned expectations.
1814 T. Jefferson Let. 2 Jan. in Writings (1903) XIV. 49 His temper was naturally irritable and high toned.
1829 I. Taylor Nat. Hist. Enthusiasm viii. 199 Our..high-toned irritability, edacious appetites, and pampered constitutions.
1878 W. M. Baker Col. Dunwoddie, Millionaire viii. 41 It is that temperament which is ridiculed as high-toned, high-strung, and which is a mental and moral peculiarity.
1960 R. Davies Voice from Attic i. 28 It is a widespread belief that a truly critical mind exists in a constant state of high-toned irascibility.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2014; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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adj.n.1754