Halftone
noun, verb ·2 syllables ·Uncommon ·College level
Definitions
- 1 Synonym of semitone, half the interval between two notes on a scale.
"That animals utter musical notes is familiar to every one, as we may daily hear in the singing of birds. It is a more remarkable fact that an ape, one of the Gibbons, produces an exact octave of musical sounds, ascending and descending the scale by half-tones; so that this monkey “alone of brute mammals may be said to sing.”"
- 2 an engraving used to reproduce an illustration wordnet
- 3 A picture made by using the process of half-toning.
"Before leaving New York a handsome booklet had been prepared and printed. The brochure contained the names of the commissioners, their public records, halftone portraits and a carefully prepared statement of the objects of the expedition."
- 4 a print obtained from photoengraving wordnet
- 5 An intermediate or middle tone in a painting, engraving, photograph, etc.; a middle tint, neither very dark nor very light.
"“No, I cannot enjoy it,” Cecilia said to Mrs. Devereux; “I don't mind the grey light; cloud and water, and half-tones of colour, are homely English and pleasant, and that opal where the sun should be has a suggestiveness richer than sunlight.[…]”"
- 1 To reproduce a photograph or other continuous tone image by the use of dots of various sizes.
Example
More examples"That animals utter musical notes is familiar to every one, as we may daily hear in the singing of birds. It is a more remarkable fact that an ape, one of the Gibbons, produces an exact octave of musical sounds, ascending and descending the scale by half-tones; so that this monkey “alone of brute mammals may be said to sing.”"
Etymology
From half- + tone.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.