1.Definition: (linguistics) a pitch or change in pitch of the voice that serves to distinguish words in tonal languages

"The Beijing dialect uses four tones"

Category: General

2.Definition: (music) the distinctive property of a complex sound (a voice or noise or musical sound)

"The timbre of her soprano was rich and lovely", "The muffled tones of the broken bell summoned them to meet"

Related Noun(s):quality, timber, timbre

Category: General

3.Definition: a musical interval of two semitones

Related Noun(s):step

Category: General

4.Definition: a notation representing the pitch and duration of a musical sound

Related Noun(s):note

Category: General

5.Definition: a quality of a given color that differs slightly from another color

Related Noun(s):shade, tincture, tint

Category: General

6.Definition: a steady sound without overtones

"They tested his hearing with pure tones of different frequencies"

Category: General

7.Definition: the elastic tension of living muscles, arteries, etc. that facilitate response to stimuli

Related Noun(s):tonicity, tonus

Category: General

8.Definition: the general atmosphere of a place or situation and the effect that it has on people

"The feel of the city excited him", "A clergyman improved the tone of the meeting", "It had the smell of treason"

Related Noun(s):feel, feeling, flavor, flavour, look, smell, spirit

Category: General

9.Definition: the quality of a person's voice

"He began in a conversational tone", "He spoke in a nervous tone of voice"

Category: General

10.Definition: the quality of something (an act or a piece of writing) that reveals the attitudes and presuppositions of the author

"The general tone of articles appearing in the newspapers is that the government should withdraw", "From the tone of her behavior I gathered that I had outstayed my welcome"

Category: General