tone

1 of 2

noun

ˈtōn

: vocal or musical sound of a specific quality

spoke in low tones

masculine tones

especially : musical sound with respect to timbre and manner of expression

: a sound of definite pitch and vibration

: whole step

: accent or inflection expressive of a mood or emotion

: style or manner of expression in speaking or writing

seemed wise to adopt a conciliatory tone

: a particular pitch or change of pitch constituting an element in the intonation of a phrase or sentence

high tone

low tone

mid tone

low-rising tone

falling tone

: the pitch of a word often used to express differences of meaning

a(1)

: color quality or value

(2)

: a tint or shade of color

: the color that appreciably modifies a hue or white or black

gray walls of greenish tone

: the effect in painting of light and shade together with color

: normal tension or responsiveness to stimuli

specifically : the state of partial contraction of skeletal muscle at rest : muscular tonus

: strength, firmness, or tautness of a part of the body (such as the muscles or skin)

exercising to improve muscle tone

the shape and tone of the arms

: the state of a living body or of any of its organs or parts in which the functions are healthy and performed with due vigor

: general character, quality, or trend

a city's upbeat tone

: frame of mind : mood

: healthy elasticity : resiliency

tone

2 of 2

verb

toned; toning

transitive verb

: to soften or reduce in intensity, color, appearance, or sound : mellow

—often used with down

tone down the bright colorsThe candidate toned down his harsh rhetoric.

: to impart tone to : strengthen

medicine to tone up the system

especially : to increase the firmness, strength, or tautness of (a part of the body)

She lifted weights to tone her arms.

: to change the normal silver image of (something, such as a photographic print) into a colored image

: to give a particular intonation or inflection to

: intone

intransitive verb

: to assume a pleasing color quality or tint

: to blend or harmonize in color

Example Sentences

Noun He replied in a friendly tone. They spoke in hushed tones. Don't use that rude tone of voice with me. the low tones of an organ The speech had religious tones to it. The author's tone shows her attitude toward the subject. The professor's condescending tone irritated some students. a bright, dark, or light tone of blue the soft tones of the painting See More

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

My Own on your Patreon demonstrates a similar tone, as well as a similar sense of pacing, for example.

WIRED, 14 Sep. 2022 Makeup artist Nadia Tayeh kept Williams's deep, golden skin tone vibrant.

Chelsea Avila, Allure, 14 Sep. 2022 The goal-line stand would set a crucial tone, one that Caleb Williams would carry all the way down the field on a subsequent 83-yard drive.

Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2022 Will Charles be able to suppress, or at least tone down, a lifetime of vocal advocacy?

Richard Jerome, Peoplemag, 9 Sep. 2022 On Monday night, Bumgarner offered a similar tone, content with his own stuff but lamenting a lack of command.

Theo Mackie, The Arizona Republic, 2 Sep. 2022 Hill tried again to work fast, but an 11-pitch walk by Nathaniel Lowe in the first disrupted his flow and set the tone — even a scoreless first inning took 22 pitches.

Julian Mcwilliams, BostonGlobe.com, 1 Sep. 2022 In contradiction to Rachmaninoff’s public image as a dour spirit, his late scores have a cosmopolitan veneer and a sly, ironic tone.

Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2022 These aren’t the first efforts to make use of wearables to monitor mood — Amazon’s Halo wristbands, for example, can monitor tone of voice, which itself is a methodology being tackled by many other companies.

Mario Aguilar, STAT, 27 Aug. 2022

Verb

Administration officials on Monday called on China to tone down the rhetoric, underscoring that there was no reason for Beijing to escalate tensions in the Taiwan Strait over the potential visit.

Eileen Ng And, BostonGlobe.com, 1 Aug. 2022 At one point, the mild-spoken Republican implored Americans to tone down the heated rhetoric.

Farnoush Amiri, Anchorage Daily News, 21 June 2022 The difference in opinion has reportedly caused tension between the two leaders, with Zelensky urging his American counterpart to tone down rhetoric and avoid stoking panic.

Robert Hart, Forbes, 28 Jan. 2022 Viserys refused, but after a brutal roundup of the criminals in King's Landing — all of whom had body parts cut off or are killed — Viserys told Daemon to tone down his brutality.

Ryan Parker, Peoplemag, 22 Aug. 2022 The town resisted calls from prominent American and European intellectuals to tone down the play’s classic anti-Semitism.

A.j. Goldmann, The Atlantic, 4 Aug. 2022 In the weeks leading up to Russia's invasion on Feb. 24, Zelensky asked Biden to tone down the alarmism to avoid destabilizing Ukraine's economy.

Grayson Quay, The Week, 11 June 2022 The travel-ready compact comes with a brush and powder to tone down excess shine.

Melody Leibner, Harper's BAZAAR, 10 June 2022 Asked Friday at the Capitol about the responsibility leaders have to tone down the rhetoric and keep the nation calm during times of uncertainty and distress, House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy demurred — and blamed Attorney General Merrick Garland.

Lisa Mascaro, Chron, 13 Aug. 2022 See More

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English ton, tone "musical sound or note, pitch," borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French ton, tun, toen, borrowed from Latin tonus "strain, tension, musical pitch, note," borrowed from Greek tónos "stretching, tightening, exertion, pitch of the voice, accent in a syllable," nominal derivative from the base of teínein "to stretch, extend" — more at tenant entry 1

Note: As the Oxford English Dictionary, 1st edition, points out, the phonetic development of tone is peculiar. The normal outcome of medieval French ton in modern English should have been *toun, parallel to sound, noun. If, on the other hand, the vowel of ton had merged with Middle English long close o, the result should have been *toon; toone (glossed as Latin tonus) is in fact rhymed with boone and moone in the rhyming dictionary of Peter Levins (Manipulus Vocabulorum, 1570). The Oxford editors are probably correct in suggesting that the present form of the word is due to repeated reshaping under the influence of the Latin source. Cf. tune entry 1.

Verb

derivative of tone entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1674, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 5

Kids Definition

tone 1 of 2

noun

ˈtōn

: an individual way of speaking or writing especially when used to express an emotion

He replied in a friendly tone.

: common character or quality

There was a polite tone to the discussions.

: quality of spoken or musical sound

: a sound on one pitch

: a shade of color

The room is decorated in soft tones.

: a color that changes another

It's gray with a blue tone.

: a healthy state of the body or any of its parts

He has good muscle tone.

tone

2 of 2

verb

toned; toning

: to give a healthy state to : strengthen

She exercised to tone up her muscles.

单词	intones
释义	tone 1 of 2 noun ˈtōn 1 : vocal or musical sound of a specific quality spoke in low tones masculine tones especially : musical sound with respect to timbre and manner of expression 2 a : a sound of definite pitch and vibration b : whole step 3 : accent or inflection expressive of a mood or emotion 4 : style or manner of expression in speaking or writing seemed wise to adopt a conciliatory tone 5 : a particular pitch or change of pitch constituting an element in the intonation of a phrase or sentence high tone low tone mid tone low-rising tone falling tone 6 : the pitch of a word often used to express differences of meaning 7 a(1) : color quality or value (2) : a tint or shade of color b : the color that appreciably modifies a hue or white or black gray walls of greenish tone 8 : the effect in painting of light and shade together with color 9 a : normal tension or responsiveness to stimuli specifically : the state of partial contraction of skeletal muscle at rest : muscular tonus b : strength, firmness, or tautness of a part of the body (such as the muscles or skin) exercising to improve muscle tone the shape and tone of the arms c : the state of a living body or of any of its organs or parts in which the functions are healthy and performed with due vigor 10 a : general character, quality, or trend a city's upbeat tone b : frame of mind : mood c : healthy elasticity : resiliency tone 2 of 2 verb toned; toning transitive verb 1 : to soften or reduce in intensity, color, appearance, or sound : mellow —often used with down tone down the bright colorsThe candidate toned down his harsh rhetoric. 2 : to impart tone to : strengthen medicine to tone up the system especially : to increase the firmness, strength, or tautness of (a part of the body) She lifted weights to tone her arms. 3 : to change the normal silver image of (something, such as a photographic print) into a colored image 4 : to give a particular intonation or inflection to 5 : intone intransitive verb 1 : to assume a pleasing color quality or tint 2 : to blend or harmonize in color Synonyms Noun fashion locution manner mode phraseology style vein See all Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences Noun He replied in a friendly tone. They spoke in hushed tones. Don't use that rude tone of voice with me. the low tones of an organ The speech had religious tones to it. The author's tone shows her attitude toward the subject. The professor's condescending tone irritated some students. a bright, dark, or light tone of blue the soft tones of the painting See More Recent Examples on the Web Noun My Own on your Patreon demonstrates a similar tone, as well as a similar sense of pacing, for example. WIRED, 14 Sep. 2022 Makeup artist Nadia Tayeh kept Williams's deep, golden skin tone vibrant. Chelsea Avila, Allure, 14 Sep. 2022 The goal-line stand would set a crucial tone, one that Caleb Williams would carry all the way down the field on a subsequent 83-yard drive. Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2022 Will Charles be able to suppress, or at least tone down, a lifetime of vocal advocacy? Richard Jerome, Peoplemag, 9 Sep. 2022 On Monday night, Bumgarner offered a similar tone, content with his own stuff but lamenting a lack of command. Theo Mackie, The Arizona Republic, 2 Sep. 2022 Hill tried again to work fast, but an 11-pitch walk by Nathaniel Lowe in the first disrupted his flow and set the tone — even a scoreless first inning took 22 pitches. Julian Mcwilliams, BostonGlobe.com, 1 Sep. 2022 In contradiction to Rachmaninoff’s public image as a dour spirit, his late scores have a cosmopolitan veneer and a sly, ironic tone. Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2022 These aren’t the first efforts to make use of wearables to monitor mood — Amazon’s Halo wristbands, for example, can monitor tone of voice, which itself is a methodology being tackled by many other companies. Mario Aguilar, STAT, 27 Aug. 2022 Verb Administration officials on Monday called on China to tone down the rhetoric, underscoring that there was no reason for Beijing to escalate tensions in the Taiwan Strait over the potential visit. Eileen Ng And, BostonGlobe.com, 1 Aug. 2022 At one point, the mild-spoken Republican implored Americans to tone down the heated rhetoric. Farnoush Amiri, Anchorage Daily News, 21 June 2022 The difference in opinion has reportedly caused tension between the two leaders, with Zelensky urging his American counterpart to tone down rhetoric and avoid stoking panic. Robert Hart, Forbes, 28 Jan. 2022 Viserys refused, but after a brutal roundup of the criminals in King's Landing — all of whom had body parts cut off or are killed — Viserys told Daemon to tone down his brutality. Ryan Parker, Peoplemag, 22 Aug. 2022 The town resisted calls from prominent American and European intellectuals to tone down the play’s classic anti-Semitism. A.j. Goldmann, The Atlantic, 4 Aug. 2022 In the weeks leading up to Russia's invasion on Feb. 24, Zelensky asked Biden to tone down the alarmism to avoid destabilizing Ukraine's economy. Grayson Quay, The Week, 11 June 2022 The travel-ready compact comes with a brush and powder to tone down excess shine. Melody Leibner, Harper's BAZAAR, 10 June 2022 Asked Friday at the Capitol about the responsibility leaders have to tone down the rhetoric and keep the nation calm during times of uncertainty and distress, House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy demurred — and blamed Attorney General Merrick Garland. Lisa Mascaro, Chron, 13 Aug. 2022 See More Word History Etymology Noun Middle English ton, tone "musical sound or note, pitch," borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French ton, tun, toen, borrowed from Latin tonus "strain, tension, musical pitch, note," borrowed from Greek tónos "stretching, tightening, exertion, pitch of the voice, accent in a syllable," nominal derivative from the base of teínein "to stretch, extend" — more at tenant entry 1 Note: As the Oxford English Dictionary, 1st edition, points out, the phonetic development of tone is peculiar. The normal outcome of medieval French ton in modern English should have been toun, parallel to sound, noun.* If, on the other hand, the vowel of ton had merged with Middle English long close o, the result should have been toon; toone* (glossed as Latin tonus) is in fact rhymed with boone and moone in the rhyming dictionary of Peter Levins (Manipulus Vocabulorum, 1570). The Oxford editors are probably correct in suggesting that the present form of the word is due to repeated reshaping under the influence of the Latin source. Cf. tune entry 1. Verb derivative of tone entry 1 First Known Use Noun 14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1 Verb 1674, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 5 Phrases Containing tone earth tone set the tone engaged tone tone-deaf tone-setter tone row tone poem tone of voice tone in with (something) dialling tone jewel tone twelve-tone row tone color dial tone quarter tone leading tone touch-tone twelve-tone tone language two-tone See More earth tone set the tone engaged tone tone-deaf tone-setter tone row tone poem tone of voice tone in with (something) dialling tone jewel tone twelve-tone row tone color dial tone quarter tone leading tone touch-tone twelve-tone tone language two-tone See More Kids Definition tone 1 of 2 noun ˈtōn 1 : an individual way of speaking or writing especially when used to express an emotion He replied in a friendly tone. 2 : common character or quality There was a polite tone to the discussions. 3 : quality of spoken or musical sound 4 : a sound on one pitch 5 : a shade of color The room is decorated in soft tones. 6 : a color that changes another It's gray with a blue tone. 7 : a healthy state of the body or any of its parts He has good muscle tone. tone 2 of 2 verb toned; toning : to give a healthy state to : strengthen She exercised to tone up her muscles. Medical Definition tone 1 of 2 noun ˈtōn 1 : a sound of definite pitch and vibration 2 a : the state of a living body or of any of its organs or parts in which the functions are healthy and performed with due vigor b : normal tension or responsiveness to stimuli specifically : tonus sense 2 tone 2 of 2 transitive verb toned; toning : to impart tone to tone the muscles Biographical Definition Tone biographical name ˈtōn (Theobald) Wolfe 1763–1798 Irish revolutionary intones verb present tense third-person singular of intone as in sings to utter in musical or drawn out tones "The day is begun," the narrator intoned Synonyms & Similar Words Relevance sings chants roars intonates bellows choruses chimes belts
随便看	try (something) on for size try as one might try back try cock try every trick in the book try for try for a baby try for point try gun try it on try me try on try on for size try one's best try one's best/hardest try one's damnedest try one's hand try one's hand (at) try one's hand at try one's hardest try one's luck try out try someone's patience try something on for size try square

tone

noun

verb

Synonyms

Example Sentences

Word History

Phrases Containing tone

Kids Definition

noun

verb

Medical Definition

noun

transitive verb

Biographical Definition

biographical name

verb