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to tone

to tone

39 5.3
To change the pitch of your voice to show feeling
  • verb
  • /toʊn/
translation icon : modular
  • He decided to tone his speech down when addressing the younger audience.
  • tone down the rhetoric

I'm sorry, Let me let me tone down the rhetoric.

Examples

  • Could you please tone down your voice during the presentation so everyone can hear?

  • You just have to tone it down a little bit.

  • Allow me to just go ahead and tone that down a little bit.

  • I just have tried to kind of tone it down, scale it back.

  • Good, but could you tone it down just a little?

  • I think you might need to tone it down just a little bit.

  • Just tone it down a little.

  • Now, it's a little rough, and we might have to tone it down a bit.

  • - Griffin, you got to tone it down.

  • Can we just tone it down a little bit with the booze?

Synonyms

to modulate
vsto tone
9 6.7

Change the pitch and volume of voice or music

changes pitch or quality of voice in speech rather than music
to inflect
vsto tone
1 7.3

Change the sound of your voice to show feeling

varies pitch or overall sound quality of voice more generally
to tonify
vsto tone
  • Specialized
9.6

To make a voice or instrument sound clearer and fuller

varies pitch or quality of voice rather than improving overall richness

Idioms

Not able or willing to notice how other people feel

Phrasal Verbs

44 3.7

To make something less strong, for example a sound, color or feeling

Create a mood at the start of an event

1 3.8

To make muscles firmer and stronger by exercise

To make the skin look firmer and more even using skin care

Compounds

28 3.1

The way someone speaks that shows their feelings or mood

muscle tone
  • Specialized
8 3.4

A little tightness in resting muscles that keeps them ready to move

tone-deaf
  • Offensive
6 7.7

Not aware of other people's feelings or reactions

1 7.0

Unable to hear or sing the right notes in music

tone poem
  • Specialized
1 8.0

A piece for orchestra that tells a story or paints a scene

A way of speaking that sounds happy and friendly

pure tone
  • Specialized
1 5.8

A steady sound with one clear pitch, like a tuning fork

A way of speaking or writing that sounds too sweet and not real

whole tone
  • Specialized
1 6.6

An interval of two semitones used in many musical scales

chest tone
  • Specialized
7.5

A low, rich voice sound that people feel in the chest

A soft, gentle voice that makes people feel calm

12-tone music
  • Specialized
9.1

A way of writing music that uses all twelve notes in a fixed order

12-tone system
  • Specialized
9.3

A way of writing music that uses all twelve notes in a fixed order

leading tone
  • Specialized
8.4

The seventh note of a scale that is one half step below the main note and pulls toward it

A calm even way of speaking that does not show strong feeling

head tone
  • Specialized
8.0

A high singing voice that feels like it rings in the head

A normal relaxed way of speaking that sounds honest

quarter tone
  • Specialized
8.7

A musical interval half the size of a semitone used in some modern and non-Western music

quarter-tone
  • Specialized
9.3

A small musical interval half a semitone used in some music

partial tone
  • Specialized
7.7

A higher sound made when the main note vibrates a whole number of times

passing tone
  • Specialized
7.8

A note played between two main notes to make the tune move smoothly

tarnal tone
  • Archaic
9.9

A harsh way of speaking that annoys people who hear it

tone arm
  • Specialized
7.1

A light balanced arm on a record player that holds the needle and moves across a record

Unable to hear differences between musical notes

Not noticing or understanding other people's feelings in what they say

tone language
  • Specialized
8.1

A language where changes in voice pitch make words mean different things

tone-beginning
  • Specialized
8.6

How a musical note begins, showing if it sounds clear or strong

tone police
  • Offensive
7.9

People who criticize how someone speaks instead of what they say

tone system
  • Specialized
7.0

A way a language uses high or low voice to change word meaning

twelve-tone music
  • Specialized
8.6

A way of writing music that uses the twelve notes in a set order

twelve-tone system
  • Specialized
9.9

A way of writing music that uses all twelve notes in one order

A way of speaking that is too friendly and seems not sincere

How Modulated

to emote
7 7.9
to modulate
9 6.7
to tone
39 5.3
to speak
1.0

Surface Forms

tone infinitive
toned past
toned past participle
toning present participle
tones third person singular

Etymology

The verb tone comes from the Greek tonos, meaning 'tension' or 'stretch'. So to tone your speech is to change the tension or pitch of your voice to sound softer, firmer, or more friendly.