His stern tone and loud voice belied his inner sensitivity and caring nature.
Source: tatoeba (1999)
Tone
/toʊn/
Synonyms for "tone" (660 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (132)
Noun(29 words)
noteadjustambianceambiancesambienceambiencesaquamarinesaquatintatmospheresattitudebeepbeeperbeepingbeepsblaresbleepbleepingbleepsbrownbutterscotch
Show 9 more words
calibratecaramelschirpinesscolorcastcomfort signalscommunication form stylecommunication levelcoral huecreate terracotta look
accentaccidentalachromatismactactionactionsactivityactsadaptabilityaddressaffectaffectationairalgorithmanagnorisisangleapply paintapproacharchitectonicsarchitecture
Show 80 more words
argumentarrangementaspectatmosphereattackattitudeaudio frequencyaurabackgroundbalancebearingbedaubbedizenbeefbeefinessbegildbehaviorbehavior patternbehavioral normbehavioral sciencebendbesmearbiasblendbody buildbody-buildbouncebouncinessbrandbrawnbrawninessbrevebrighten upbrightnessbrush on paintbrushworkbuoyancebuoyancycalciminecarriagecastcatastrophecharactercharacteristiccharacteristicscharacterizationchromachromatic colorchromaticitychromatismchromismclassical pitchclimatecoatcolorcolor balancecolor harmonycolor qualitycolor schemecolorationcolorimetric qualitycoloringcomplexioncomplicationcomportmentcompositionconductconsecutive intervalsconstituentsconstitutioncontinuitycontrivancecool colorcoursecovercrasiscrotchetcueculture patterncurrent
Verb(2 words)
affect moodchant
Adjective(1 words)
artistic style
Strong matches (198)
customdabdampendaubdecorator colordeep-dyedegreedemeanordemisemiquaverdenouementdeportmentdepthdesigndevelopmentdevicedharmadiapasondiatessarondiathesisdiatonic interval
Show 132 more words
diatonic semitonedipdirectiondisposedispositiondistemperdoingdoingsdominantdominant notedouble whole notedouble-dyedraftsmanshipdriftdulcetnessdulldyeeighth noteelasticityemblazonemphasisenamelengildenharmonicenharmonic diesisenharmonic intervalenharmonic noteepisodeethosexpressionextensibilityfablefacefalling actionfashionfast-dyefeelfeelingfiberfifthfitnessflatflexibilityfolkwayforceformfourthframeframe of mindfrench pitchfrequencyfrescofreshen upfullnessfundamentalfundamental tonegeniusgesturegesturesgildgimmickgiveglacial movementglazeglossgoings ongoings-ongraingroupingguisehabithalf notehalf stephalftoneharmonicheartheftinessheighthemidemisemiquaverhigh pitchhuehumorhumorshuskinessilkilluminateimbueincidentinclineinduceinflectioninfluenceingrainintervalintonationintonation patterninvoluntary musclejapankeykindlacquerlay on colorleadlead by the noseless semitonelightnesslimber uplineline of actionlineslivelinesslocal colorlow pitchmain currentmainstreammaintienmakeupmannermanner of speakingmanner of workingmannersmeansmellifluencemellifluousnessmelodic intervalmelodiousnessmelodymethodmethodologymethodsmienmilieu
Adjective(8 words)
darker colorearthlier flavoremotional conditionemotional tonefrench airgreek tonoslinguistic registerlinguistic style
Noun(31 words)
Determiner(1 words)
earth's air envelope
Related words (330)
mindminimmodemode of expressionmode of operationmode of proceduremoderatemodifymodulatemodulationmodus operandimodus vivendimoldmonotonemonotonymoodmoralemotifmotionmotions
Show 228 more words
mouldmouldermouldymovemovementmovementsmovesmunsell chromamusclemuscularitymusculaturemusical notemusical qualitymusical soundmusicalitymutemythosnaturalnatural colornatureneutral colornew philharmonic pitchnoteobservable behavioroctaveodororderovertonepaintpainterlinesspallorparallel octavespargetpartialpartial tonepatent notepatternperipeteiaperspectivepersuadephilharmonic pitchphilosophical pitchphrasingphysiquepigmentpitchpitch accentplanplotpoiseportposeposturepracticepraxispredisposepresenceprimeprocedureproceedingprocesspromptpropertypurityqualityquarter notequaverquietenreboundrecognitionreduceregisterreinvigoratereportresilienceresiliencyresonanceresponding noteresponsivenessrevitalizerichnessrising actionroutinerunsaturationschemesecondsecondary plotsemibrevesemiquaversemitonesensesetseventhshadeshadingshadowshapeshaped notesharpshellacsinewsinewinesssinewssixteenth notesixthsixty-fourth noteskin colorslantslop on paintsmearsnapsocial sciencesoft-pedalsoftensoften upsomatotypesonoritysonorousnesssortsoundspeech tunespiccatospiritspiritsspringspringinessstaccatostainstampstandard pitchstate of mindstepstipplestorystrainstreakstreamstressstretchstretchabilitystretchinessstripestructurestylesubduesubjectsubplotsuchnesssuprasegmentalsustained noteswaysweetnessswingswitchsystemtacktacticstechniquetempertemperamenttendencytenortercetthe drillthe general tendencythe howthe main coursethe way ofthematic developmentthemethewthewinessthewsthirdthirty-second notetimbretime spirittincttincturetingetinttonalitytone colortone downtone of voicetone qualitytone uptonelessnesstonicitytonustopictreatmenttrendtriplettunetune uptunefulnessturntwisttypeundercoatundercolorundertoneunison intervalvaluevaluesvarnishveinvocevoicevoice qualifiervoice qualityvoluntary musclewarm colorwashwayway of lifeway of sayingwayswear downweigh withwhitewashwhole notewhole stepwiseworkzeitgeist
Noun(71 words)
modifymodulate expressionmoodmood settingmore sea-likemusical notenote observationsnotesnuancespaint colorpealingperiwinklephrase choicepingpingingpitchpitchespluckinesspolaritiespure tone
Show 51 more words
qualityraetamreekreeksregulatesadnesssavorssavoursentimentsentimentsshadeshadessingsongsinopiasmellsonantsoundspeech qualityspeech related traitspiritstepstyle of communicationstyle of languagesultrinesssurface colorstanstautnesstenorstimbertimbretincturetinttint of doubttintingtintstonalitiestone of voicetonitoniatonicitytonustoontouchvelvetvoiceswhistlewhole stepwhole tonewritingwriting stylewriting tone
Verb(5 words)
Adjective(6 words)
qualitative attributeshaded colorspecific wordingspoken signalstense atmospheretextual quality
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: note, accent, accidental, achromatism, act.
- Sentence evidence is available for tone, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from wordnet, opengloss, moby, derived_reverse, and related lexical sources.
Synonym selection checklist
- Match the part of speech before comparing meanings.
- Check whether the synonym changes intensity, formality, or emotional tone.
- Read the replacement inside the full sentence, not just beside "tone".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "tone"
Keep "tone" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Replacement workflow
1. Preserve meaning
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "tone" intact in the sentence you are editing.
2. Tune tone
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
3. Re-read context
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
Final fit check
After choosing a replacement for "tone", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "tone" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
More general
44 entriesShowing 16 of 44 words.
More specific
7 entriesCollocations
11 entriesacademic tonecolor toneformal toneneutral toneset the toneskin tonetonal qualitytone colortone downtone of voicetone up
Inflections
3 entriesDerivations
6 entriesTranslations
36 translations across 33 languages.
Ancient Greek
1 entries- τόνος noun (specific pitch, quality and duration; a note)
Armenian
1 entries- տոն noun (specific pitch, quality and duration; a note)
Bulgarian
1 entries- тон noun (specific pitch, quality and duration; a note)
Catalan
1 entries- to noun (specific pitch, quality and duration; a note)
Czech
1 entries- tón noun (specific pitch, quality and duration; a note)
Danish
1 entries- tone noun (specific pitch, quality and duration; a note)
Dutch
2 entries- noot noun (specific pitch, quality and duration; a note)
- toon noun (specific pitch, quality and duration; a note)
Esperanto
1 entries- tono noun (specific pitch, quality and duration; a note)
Finnish
2 entries- nuotti noun (specific pitch, quality and duration; a note)
- ääni noun (specific pitch, quality and duration; a note)
French
1 entries- ton noun (specific pitch, quality and duration; a note)
Friulian
1 entries- ton noun (specific pitch, quality and duration; a note)
Galician
1 entries- ton noun (specific pitch, quality and duration; a note)
Georgian
1 entries- ტონი noun (specific pitch, quality and duration; a note)
German
1 entries- Ton noun (specific pitch, quality and duration; a note)
Greenlandic
1 entries- nipi noun (specific pitch, quality and duration; a note)
Hebrew
2 entries- טוֹן noun (specific pitch, quality and duration; a note)
- צְלִיל noun (specific pitch, quality and duration; a note)
Irish
1 entries- ton noun (specific pitch, quality and duration; a note)
Italian
1 entries- tono noun (specific pitch, quality and duration; a note)
Japanese
1 entries- トーン noun (specific pitch, quality and duration; a note)
Latvian
1 entries- tonis noun (specific pitch, quality and duration; a note)
Lithuanian
1 entries- tonas noun (specific pitch, quality and duration; a note)
Malagasy
1 entries- nôty noun (specific pitch, quality and duration; a note)
Malay
1 entries- nada noun (specific pitch, quality and duration; a note)
Ottoman Turkish
1 entries- سس noun (specific pitch, quality and duration; a note)
Persian
1 entries- پرده noun (specific pitch, quality and duration; a note)
Polish
1 entries- ton noun (specific pitch, quality and duration; a note)
Portuguese
1 entries- tom noun (specific pitch, quality and duration; a note)
Russian
1 entries- тон noun (specific pitch, quality and duration; a note)
Sanskrit
1 entries- तान noun (specific pitch, quality and duration; a note)
Spanish
1 entries- tono noun (specific pitch, quality and duration; a note)
Swedish
1 entries- ton noun (specific pitch, quality and duration; a note)
Tagalog
1 entries- tono noun (specific pitch, quality and duration; a note)
Vietnamese
1 entries- tiếng noun (specific pitch, quality and duration; a note)
Sample sentences
27 total sentences available.
There was a sudden change in her tone.
Source: tatoeba (19618)
The article's tone was one of pessimism.
Source: tatoeba (20207)
You don't have to use such a harsh tone with me.
Source: tatoeba (41554)
Showing 4 of 27 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "tone"?
Closest matches include note, accent, accidental, achromatism, act.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "tone"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.
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