tone
tohn
/toʊn/
The general character or attitude of a place, piece of writing, situation, etc.
Tone reflects the author's or narrator's attitude toward the subject matter or the audience. It can be cynical, playful, solemn, or sarcastic.
The story behind the word. Tone comes from the Greek 'tonos', meaning a stretching, tension, or pitch of the voice. It originally referred to the tension of a string on a musical instrument, which determined its pitch, before evolving to describe the 'pitch' of an author's voice.
Word relationships
- attitude: Attitude is the underlying feeling, while tone is the stylistic expression of that feeling in writing or speech.
- atmosphere: Atmosphere refers to the overall feeling of a place or scene, which is closer to 'mood' than the authorial 'tone'.
Commonly confused with
- mood: Tone is the creator's attitude (e.g., critical, humorous); mood is the emotional climate created for the reader (e.g., eerie, cozy).
Word family
- tonal (adjective): Relating to tone or pitch.
- tonality (noun): The character of a sound or color scheme.
Collocations
- conversational tone
- somber tone
- set the tone
- defiant tone
Idioms & expressions
- tone it down
Example sentences
- "The writer's sarcastic tone made it clear that she did not actually support the new policy." Analyzing a satirical article
- "It is crucial to maintain a professional tone when responding to customer complaints." Discussing business communication
Memory hook
Think of 'vocal tone'. Even when writing, an author has a 'vocal tone' that tells you if they are smiling, frowning, or rolling their eyes. Tone is the writer's telephone voice.
When not to use
Do not confuse tone with mood. Tone is the author's attitude, while mood is the emotional atmosphere felt by the reader.
Fun facts
- In linguistics, tonal languages (like Mandarin) use the pitch of a word to completely change its dictionary definition, not just its emotional subtext.
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