tone

(noun) the quality of a person's voice. Synonyms: tone of voice. Examples: "He began in a conversational tone." "He spoke in a nervous tone of voice."

(noun) (linguistics) a pitch or change in pitch of the voice that serves to distinguish words in tonal languages. Example: "The beijing dialect uses four tones."

(noun) (music) the distinctive property of a complex sound (a voice or noise or musical sound). Synonyms: timbre, timber, quality. Examples: "The timbre of her soprano was rich and lovely." "The muffled tones of the broken bell summoned them to meet."

(noun) the general atmosphere of a place or situation and the effect that it has on people. Synonyms: spirit, feel, feeling, flavor, flavour, look, smell. Examples: "The feel of the city excited him." "A clergyman improved the tone of the meeting." "It had the smell of treason."

(noun) a quality of a given color that differs slightly from another color. Synonyms: shade, tint, tincture. Example: "After several trials he mixed the shade of pink that she wanted."

(noun) a notation representing the pitch and duration of a musical sound. Synonyms: note, musical note. Example: "The singer held the note too long."

(noun) a steady sound without overtones. Synonyms: pure tone. Example: "They tested his hearing with pure tones of different frequencies."

(noun) the elastic tension of living muscles, arteries, etc. that facilitate response to stimuli. Synonyms: tonicity, tonus. Example: "The doctor tested my tonicity."

(noun) a musical interval of two semitones. Synonyms: whole tone, step, whole step.

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

(verb) utter monotonously and repetitively and rhythmically. Synonyms: chant, intone. Example: "The students chanted the same slogan over and over again."

(verb) vary the pitch of one's speech. Synonyms: inflect, modulate.

(verb) change the color or tone of. Example: "Tone a negative."

(verb) change to a color image. Example: "Tone a photographic image."

(verb) give a healthy elasticity to. Synonyms: tone up, strengthen. Example: "Let's tone our muscles."