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tone

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tone¹

  • /ˈtəʊn/ UK
  • [ˈtʰəʊ̯n] UK
  • /ˈtoʊn/ Canada, US
  • [ˈtʰoʊ̯n] ~ [ˈtʰəʊ̯n] Canada, US
  • [ˈtʰoːn]
  • /ˈtəʉ̯n/ Australia
  • [ˈtʰəʉ̯n] Australia
  • /ˈtɐʉn/ New Zealand
  • [ˈtʰɐʉ̯n] New Zealand
  • /ˈton/ Scotland
  • [ˈtʰon] Scotland
  • /ˈtoːn/ Wales
  • [ˈtʰoːn] Wales

Rhymes with -əʊn

Where it comes from

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.

noun tones

  1. A specific pitch.
  2. (in the diatonic scale) An interval of a major second.

    Similar: whole tone

  3. (in a Gregorian chant) A recitational melody.
  4. The character of a sound, especially the timbre of an instrument or voice.
  5. The pitch of a word's sound that distinguishes a difference in meaning, as for example in Chinese.
  6. dated A whining style of speaking; a kind of mournful or artificial strain of voice; an affected speaking with a measured rhythm and a regular rise and fall of the voice. Children often read with a tone.
  7. The manner in which speech or writing is expressed, especially the aspects of diction (word choice), connotation, emotiveness, and register. Their tone was dissatisfied, almost menacing.
  8. obsolete State of mind; temper; mood. 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 public business.
  9. The shade or quality of a colour. We make crude visual distinctions and effectively meaningless categorizations based on average skin tones, such as black or white.
  10. The favourable effect of a picture produced by the combination of light and shade, or of colours. This picture has tone.
  11. The definition and firmness of a muscle or organ; see also: tonus.
  12. 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.
  13. Normal tension or responsiveness to stimuli.
  14. slang a gun But nigga don't step wrong, cuz 8ball keep a tone
  15. figuratively The general character, atmosphere, mood, or vibe (of a situation, place, etc.). Her rousing speech gave an upbeat tone to the rest of the evening.
  16. figuratively The quality of being respectable or admirable. "I am going to raise the tone of the business. That's wot I want you for. To raise the tone of the business."

verb tones · toning · toned

  1. transitive to give a particular tone to
  2. transitive to change the colour of

    Similar: color, colour, dye, paint, tint

  3. transitive to make (something) firmer

    Similar: firm, firm up, tone up

  4. transitive to utter with an affected tone.

tone²

Where it comes from

From Middle English tone, ton, toon, from the incorrect division of thet one (“the/that one”). Compare Scots tane in the tane; see also tother.

pronoun

  1. dialectal the one (of two)

Tone³

  • /ˈtoʊn/ US

Rhymes with -əʊn

proper noun

  1. A male given name, a short form of Anthony/Antony

Tone⁴

  • /ˈtoʊn/ US

Rhymes with -əʊn

proper noun

  1. A river in Somerset, England, which flows into the River Parrett.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: timbre, whole tone, whole step, note, look, feel, feeling, tone up, quality, spirit, strengthen, tint, tonus, step, tincture, flavor

Translations

Every language

noun specific pitch, quality and duration; a note

Españoltono
日本語トーン tōn
Portuguêstom
Françaiston
DeutschTon
Italianotono
Русскийтон ton
Tiếng Việttiếng
עבריתצְלִיל tslil, טוֹן ton

noun interval of a major second

Españoltono
中文全音 quányīn
Portuguêstom
Françaiston
Русскийтон ton
Tiếng Việtnốt
עבריתטוֹן ton

noun recitational melody

DeutschTon

noun character of a sound, especially the timbre of an instrument or voice

Españoltono
Portuguêstom
DeutschKlang
Русскийтон ton
Tiếng Việtâm sắc, tiếng, giọng
עבריתצְלִיל tslil, טוֹן ton

noun pitch of a word that distinguishes a difference in meaning

Españoltono
한국어성조 seongjo
日本語声調 seichō, トーン tōn
中文聲調 /声调 shēngdiào, 聲 /声 shēng, 四聲 /四声 sì shēng
हिन्दीलहजा lahjā
Portuguêstom
Françaiston
DeutschTon
Русскийтон ton
Tiếng Việtthanh điệu, giọng, thanh
العربيةنَغْمَة naḡma, نَغْم naḡm

noun manner in which speech or writing is expressed

Españoltono
Portuguêstom
DeutschStimmung
Русскийинтона́ция intonácija, тон ton

noun shade or quality of a colour

Españoltono
Portuguêstom
DeutschFarbton
Русскийтон ton, отте́нок otténok
Tiếng Việtsắc

noun firmness of a muscle or organ

Portuguêstônus, tono
Русскийто́нус tónus

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Cite this
MLA

"tone." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/tone. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

tone. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/tone

Chicago

"tone." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/tone.

BibTeX
@misc{tone_2026,
  title = {tone},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/tone},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}