- tone
- {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun1 quality of a sound, esp. of the human voiceADJECTIVE▪ deep, low▪ hushed, quiet, subdued▪
Why is everyone speaking in hushed tones?
▪ breathy, gravelly, husky▪ clear, ringing▪ sharp, shrill, stentorian, strident▪ dry, even, flat, level, measured, neutral▪The question was posed in a flat tone.
▪ normal, reasonable▪ brisk, businesslike, matter-of-fact▪She answered him in a brisk, matter-of-fact tone.
▪ commanding, defiant, firm▪ formal▪ serious, solemn▪ dramatic, urgent▪ casual▪ bright, conversational▪ calm, friendly, gentle, mild, pleasant, soft, soothing, sympathetic, warm▪Her tone was mild, almost conversational.
▪ sweet▪the sweet tone of the flute
▪ dulcet, honeyed, mellifluous (formal) (all often ironic)▪the dulcet tones of the sergeant
▪ clipped, cold, cool, curt, hard, harsh, icy▪In cool, clipped tones, he told her what had happened.
▪ aggressive, biting, bitter, condescending, contemptuous, disapproving, dismissive, ironic, mocking, patronizing, playful, sarcastic, sardonic, scathing, teasing▪His tone was faintly mocking.
▪ threatening▪ angry, annoyed, exasperated▪ aggrieved, shocked, worried▪ bantering, conciliatory, conspiratorial, reverentialVERB + TONE▪ adopt, speak in, strike, take, use▪When she heard my accent, she adopted a warmer tone.
▪The President struck a defiant tone.
▪Don't you take that tone with me.
▪ soften▪ change▪ hear, notice▪ interpret▪Her tone was hard to interpret.
▪ not like▪Excuse me, I don't like your tone.
TONE + VERB▪ change▪His tone changed dramatically when he saw the money.
▪ soften▪ convey sth, imply sth, indicate sth, suggest sth▪ sound sth▪Her tone sounded sincere but I knew she was lying.
▪ betray sb/sth, give away sb/sth▪Her tone betrayed her impatience.
PREPOSITION▪ in a/the tone▪‘You ought to have thought of them,’ she said in a reproachful tone.
▪ in tones of▪‘I don't believe it!’ cried Henry in tones of utter amazement.
PHRASES▪ a tone of voice▪I didn't like his tone of voice; I felt he was being condescending.
2 general quality/style of sb/sthADJECTIVE▪ dominant, general, overall, prevailing▪The general tone of the report was positive.
▪ moral, political▪The newspaper sets a high moral tone in its editorial about politicians' private lives.
▪ negative▪ comic, humorous▪ seriousVERB + TONE▪ establish, set▪Her enthusiastic speech set the tone for the day's conference.
▪ have▪The movie has a jokey tone throughout.
▪ maintain▪ lighten▪He uses humour/humor to lighten the tone of the novel.
▪ match▪The music perfectly matches the tone of the movie.
PREPOSITION▪ in tone▪His letter was very negative in tone.
PHRASES▪ a change in tone, a change of tone▪There is a marked change of tone in the second half of the book.
3 shade of a colourADJECTIVE▪ light, muted, neutral, pale, pastel, soft▪muted tones of brown and green
▪ dark, deep▪ rich, warm▪ earthy, flesh, grey/gray, natural▪ colour/color▪ skin▪What is your natural skin tone?
VERB + TONE▪ match▪You should use a foundation that matches your skin tone.
4 on the telephoneADJECTIVE▪ dial (AmE), dialling (BrE)▪ engaged (BrE) (busy signal in AmE)▪ ring (usually ringtone)VERB + TONE▪ get▪I keep getting the engaged tone.
TONE + VERB▪ sound▪{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}The dial tone sounded.
verbTone is used with these nouns as the object: ↑muscle
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
