TONE

Meaning of TONE in English

I. noun

COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES

conciliatory approach/tone/gesture etc

▪

Perhaps you should adopt a more conciliatory approach.

dial tone

dialling tone

engaged tone/signal (= the sound you hear when the phone is engaged )

frosty stare/look/tone

▪

He gave me a frosty stare.

harsh voice/laugh/tone etc

▪

His voice was harsh and menacing.

hushed tones/voice/whispers etc (= quiet speech )

▪

They spoke in hushed tones at the table.

in measured tones

▪

She spoke in measured tones .

matter-of-fact voice/tone

▪

Use a matter-of-fact tone when disciplining your children.

muscle tone (= the firmness of your muscles )

▪

Swimming is good exercise for improving muscle tone.

sb’s tone of voice

▪

His tone of voice was aggressive.

set the tone (= establish a general mood or feeling )

▪

The gloomy first chapter sets the tone for the rest of the novel.

skin tone (= how light or dark someone’s skin is )

▪

Do the colours of your clothes enhance your skin tone?

tone language

tone poem

toning tables

COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS

■ ADJECTIVE

conciliatory

▪

By mid 1972 Soviet spokesmen adopted a more conciliatory tone .

▪

I said in a conciliatory tone .

▪

A conciliatory tone should he adopted for a letter of adjustment.

▪

It was not an accusatory or unforgiving piece of writing and it was in fact rather moderate and conciliatory in its tone .

different

▪

Layers of colour, white, reds and vast expanses of different tones of green.

▪

As a story, it takes on a different tone , but is still enchanting.

▪

And how different the tone of the two men and their two suicides!

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The stains are available in different wood tones , but all of them allow the grain to show through.

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Leading opponents of the trade, however, also adopted a different tone .

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You can experiment with the creation of different tones and moods in your three allotted lines.

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The reaction against Restoration licentiousness gave a very different tone to the London stage.

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Victorian Nonconformity was altogether different in tone and scale from the Old Dissent of 1660-1760.

harsh

▪

The piano sound is good, if a trifle harsh of tone in places.

▪

In soft passages the effect can be quite beautiful, but with loud and harsh tones the dissonances can be very forceful.

▪

An owner's anger at some feline misdeed usually involves harsh tones and fixed staring.

light

▪

This wash, also using ox gall, represented the lightest tones of the river.

▪

It gave a sharp, light tone to the modern drum's bass.

▪

The colour of apple also blended very beautifully with the lighter tones of the burr black walnut.

low

▪

The Thing started to speak in the low , slow tones of human speech.

▪

Each gear is a lower tone , heavier and more laboring.

▪

All through the night he lay awake, twisting and writhing, and moaning in low desperate tones .

▪

A baby with low muscle tone has a slumped posture and is slow to sit up.

▪

The Major encouraged him, then walked him round in a circle, conversing with him in low reassuring tones .

▪

She may appear stiff and perhaps awkward. Low motor tone involves greater flexor tendencies.

▪

He had spoken in so low a tone that only the few near to them had heard him.

▪

A child with low motor tone will appear loose, even floppy.

■ NOUN

dial

▪

Previous years were ok once you got the sought after dial tone .

▪

You should have heard a dial tone , a ringing sound, then burbling tones.

▪

He lifted it carefully and got no dial tone then saw the plungers were taped down.

▪

There was a click, but she stood listening to the dial tone , steadied by its urgent drone.

▪

You should be able to feel the dial tone burr. 2.

▪

When he called at noon, her answering machine emitted a long series of beeps followed by a dial tone .

▪

An old Bakelite telephone responds with a crackling dial tone .

▪

When he tried to call again, he could no longer get a dial tone .

language

▪

For tone languages , tone frames should be drilled from the outset of the course.

muscle

▪

We are taken to a place where characters have nice little problems and impressive muscle tone .

▪

Atonic seizures are characterized by a sudden loss of postural muscle tone .

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These can be very helpful in cases where lack of muscle tone is the main reason for incontinence.

▪

She also pointed out balance, muscle tone , and motor planning problems.

▪

They looked fantastic, all appealing muscle tone and clean, well-conditioned hair.

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A baby with low muscle tone has a slumped posture and is slow to sit up.

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Good weight control must be coupled with good nutrition and adequate exercise to maintain muscle tone .

▪

Someday these exigencies will show up as bad skin and collapsed muscle tone .

skin

▪

Above her elbow, the flesh displayed a normal skin tone .

▪

It seems to be more a matter of personality than skin tone .

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The skin tone , the shine on the dark hair, the thick sweep of lashes, were lifelike.

▪

To an outsider, the contrasts of this nation reach far beyond the black and white of skin tones .

▪

You simply press the touch-pad which corresponds to your hair colour and the one which corresponds to your skin tone .

▪

It was as though Norman Rockwell had discovered a new, slightly more tan, skin tone .

▪

Being a water-based mousse, it's ultra light to apply and blends in perfectly with your natural skin tone .

■ VERB

adopt

▪

It wallows in the worst excesses of sentimentality and adopts a moral tone that condemns and condones misbehaviour in the same breath.

▪

Many economists avoid talking about unemployment in public, adopting a rather sheepish tone when forced to confront the issue.

▪

She adopted a hectoring tone and continually interrupted in debates.

change

▪

You can change the tone of treble or base.

▪

But Caniff changed the tone in 1934, sending Dare on a cruise where he encounters gun smugglers, murderers and kidnappers.

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Many languages have the possibility of changing a statement into a question simply by changing the tone from falling to rising.

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And when you get within 8 inches it changes to a steady tone .

▪

Our approach had changed the tone of the whole debate.

▪

Rather it is the changed tone of the poetic voice that we notice.

▪

Nigel changed tack and his tone became more accommodating.

hear

▪

Also I could hear irony in his tone and I thought that for some reason he was very annoyed indeed.

▪

While your body is being monitored by biofeedback instruments, you hear a gentle tone .

▪

Denis could hear the tone of sarcastic relish in his voice.

▪

You should have heard a dial tone , a ringing sound, then burbling tones.

▪

If you are musically inclined, you might hear sounds or tones .

▪

Every evening he tuned in, hoping to hear her smart tones reporting on the world of law.

▪

In the same way, we can not hear very low tones .

▪

From the dark of the closet Carlos has heard tones , not content; known presences, not personalities.

hush

▪

Business details, money, in hushed tones .

▪

From her hushed and protective tone I knew immediately it was Michael.

▪

Anyone who dares defend this breakthrough speaks in hushed tones , fearing crank calls and canceled grants.

lower

▪

Far from lowering the tone , the changes are set to improve it.

set

▪

This work will set the tone for the new structure, and I hope can be completed well within two months.

▪

The back row set the tone of the class because it acted throughout as one, indivisible, incredibly noisy unit.

▪

We have set the tone for the future, and that is to be greatly welcomed.

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We set the tone at the Tory Conferences and the other parties have followed suit.

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The first day was always important, it set the tone for the whole year.

▪

The first and most dramatic, in early June, set the tone for the rest.

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But the stand which really set the tone was the third-wicket pairing of Stewart and Smith.

speak

▪

He speaks in tones which, whatever else can be said of them, are unambiguous.

▪

So why do so many of his own White House associates speak of him in tones of regret?

▪

She spoke in a metallic tone of almost cynical exasperation, fixing Ludens with her intense dark stare.

▪

Imagine a president who claims to be normal and still speaks in an authoritative tone of voice.

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She had never heard Louise speak in this tone of voice before.

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Robinson begins the lengthy questionnaire, speaking in a sympathetic tone that is disarmingly neutral.

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No one knowing how to react, all speaking in low tones with solemn faces.

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And liberals have long been accustomed to expect the poor to speak in the resounding tones of a vast majority.

PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES

acid remark/comment/tone etc

lower the tone (of sth)

▪

Far from lowering the tone, the changes are set to improve it.

sb's dulcet tones

EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES

▪

''This is Julia'', Jo said, in a friendly tone .

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A lighter tone of yellow would look better in the kitchen.

▪

He kept his tone formal.

▪

His tone was hesitant.

▪

I often detect a tone of regret in her voice.

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Mary ushered her into the church, speaking in hushed tones.

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She was almost hypnotised by his mellow tone of voice.

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She was speaking in a rather irritated tone .

▪

Swimming improves your muscle tone .

▪

The tone of the play is very moralistic.

▪

Tony's guitar has a nice tone .

EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS

▪

As a whole, body outline and tone show a horse's level of excitement, while other cues indicate the reasons.

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He did not mind being flippant about New York, but disliked to hear any one else take the same tone .

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Her shabby appearance and the battered portmanteau had weighed heavily against the genteel tone of her voice.

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The natural color of the clay communicates its earthy source and the smoky black tones on the surface suggest an ancient origin.

▪

There was a general tone of ill-concealed glee in the reporting of this most spectacular flop in the corporation's history.

▪

When he called at noon, her answering machine emitted a long series of beeps followed by a dial tone .

II. verb

COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS

■ ADVERB

down

▪

Compaq is seeking an injunction to force Dell to tone down the ads.

▪

I find the proof of this use in the general toning down of the color range during the last few years.

▪

Leaning her head back against the sofa, she closed her eyes, trying consciously to tone down her wild agitation.

▪

Jon Miller, a regular-season Orioles announcer working hard to tone down his emotions, became quite nearly comatose.

▪

Leader comment, page 18 Critics tone down attacks on legal reform plans.

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The instinct of Eva's husband, Bee, is to tone down the services and comply with the law.

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You needed to tone down the quotes at times to avert a libel writ.

▪

And is it true that you can achieve that long-desired perfect body shape from toning up different areas like thighs and buttocks?

▪

Learn to recognise which areas are toning up and reducing.

▪

This exercise is brilliant for toning up the loose skin under the chin.

▪

Its superb massaging fingers will tone up problem areas such as hips and thighs and also help to stimulate your blood supply.

▪

For toning up the whole body and increasing your stamina, swimming and running are both excellent.

▪

Afterwards she fixed me a potion she promised would tone up my whole system.

▪

The special tonic properties of Phosferine Tonic Wine will also help to tone up your system and give you energy and fitness.

■ NOUN

muscle

▪

Be sure never to rush them, but feel how they are toning and stretching your muscles as never before.