microtone
noun
mi·cro·tone ˈmī-krə-ˌtōn 
: a musical interval smaller than a halftone
microtonal
ˌmī-krə-ˈtō-nᵊl
adjective microtonality
ˌmī-krə-tō-ˈna-lə-tē
noun microtonally
ˌmī-krə-ˈtō-nᵊl-ē
adverb 
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web The relationship that forms between the two seemingly antithetical women covers vast psychological terrain, from admiration to envy, love to revulsion, mapped in every twitch of the head and microtone. 
Mallika Rao, Vulture, 1 Sep. 2021 The electronic music of the shopping mall gave way to spartan strains of Arabic music with its tangy microtones. David Patrick Stearns, Philly.com, 15 June 2018 And there’s a lot of mystery in those 'between' notes, the microtones. David Lindquist, Indianapolis Star, 14 July 2017 Players were often asked to abandon the standard twelve pitches: glissandos, microtones, whistling harmonics, and other breathy noises proliferated. Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 21 Apr. 2017 There, Levi conjured a Stygian exoplanet of glissandos and microtones and processed percussive sounds, evoking the truly alien better than the most lavish special effects ever could have done. Adam Davidson, The New Yorker, 23 Feb. 2017 He was often treated as an outsider artist for his protean interests, which included Indonesian gamelans, Esperanto and microtones. Carolina A. Miranda, latimes.com, 19 May 2017 See More
Mallika Rao, Vulture, 1 Sep. 2021 The electronic music of the shopping mall gave way to spartan strains of Arabic music with its tangy microtones. David Patrick Stearns, Philly.com, 15 June 2018 And there’s a lot of mystery in those 'between' notes, the microtones. David Lindquist, Indianapolis Star, 14 July 2017 Players were often asked to abandon the standard twelve pitches: glissandos, microtones, whistling harmonics, and other breathy noises proliferated. Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 21 Apr. 2017 There, Levi conjured a Stygian exoplanet of glissandos and microtones and processed percussive sounds, evoking the truly alien better than the most lavish special effects ever could have done. Adam Davidson, The New Yorker, 23 Feb. 2017 He was often treated as an outsider artist for his protean interests, which included Indonesian gamelans, Esperanto and microtones. Carolina A. Miranda, latimes.com, 19 May 2017 See More Word History
First Known Use
1914, in the meaning defined above