Noun
1. the quality of a person's voice;
"he began in a conversational tone""he spoke in a nervous tone of voice"2. (linguistics) a pitch or change in pitch of the voice that serves to distinguish words in tonal languages;
"the Beijing dialect uses four tones"3. (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"4. 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"5. a quality of a given color that differs slightly from a primary color;
"after several trials he mixed the shade of pink that she wanted"6. a notation representing the pitch and duration of a musical sound;
"the singer held the note too long"7. a steady sound without overtones;
"they tested his hearing with pure tones of different frequencies"8. the elastic tension of living muscles, arteries, etc. that facilitate response to stimuli;
"the doctor tested my tonicity"9. a musical interval of two semitones
10. 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"