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Glite Dictionary
📻 Not set correctly ⚙️ Not optimized 🎻 Wrong pitch
untuned

untuned

5.3
Not at the right pitch and sounds wrong when played
  • adjective
  • /ʌnˈtjuːnd/
translation icon : desafinado
  • Since my guitar is untuned, I need to use a tuner before I start practicing.

Examples

  • Claude ran to the source of the sound and came upon the Abbé sitting at the untuned harpsichord.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • It sounded like the untuned harpsichord in an alcove outside the library but was different enough to require inclusion in the S-roll.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • The magic word plucked true music from the untuned strings of Lemming's heart.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • The orchestra had to stop playing because the instruments were untuned and produced a messy sound.

  • You can tell the piano is untuned because some notes sound higher or lower than they should.

Synonyms

off-key
vsuntuned
12 4.5

A voice or instrument that sounds in the wrong pitch

is a broader state of incorrect pitch or not matching a standard
out of tune
vsuntuned
12 3.3

Notes are at the wrong pitch so a piano or violin sounds bad

is used for any lack of correct pitch or a general mismatch
unattuned
vsuntuned
7.5

Not tuned to the correct musical pitch

emphasizes lack of harmony in relations rather than only pitch
unsharp
vsuntuned
  • Specialized
7.9

Slightly lower in pitch than the correct note

describes a general incorrect pitch without specifying lower direction
flattish
vsuntuned
4.6

Slightly lower in pitch than it should be

refers to broader incorrect pitch issues rather than small flatness

Antonyms

tune
  • Specialized
109 4.9

The setting of a device that makes its signal clear

How Tuned

in tune
31 3.7
untuned
5.3
off-key
12 4.5

Surface Forms

untuned positive

Morphology

untuned = tuned (transparent) = un + tune + ed

Straightforward negation of 'tuned' meaning not adjusted to the correct pitch; easily inferable by learners.

Etymology

The word untuned comes from un- 'not' and tune, which is like the word tone and means 'correct pitch'. That is why an untuned guitar or violin sounds off — it has not been set to the right pitch.