intonation

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“
They have, to a considerable extent, superseded hand stopping, by which expedient the intonation could be altered a semitone or whole tone, by depression of the natural notes of the instrument.

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Definitions (18)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (6)

  1. noun The act of intoning or chanting.
  2. noun An intoned utterance.
  3. noun A manner of producing or uttering tones, especially with regard to accuracy of pitch.
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Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (6)

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Examples (50)

  • She had a husky voice, also fashionable, but her intonation was alive and ingenuous. —  The Tiger In The Smoke - Allingham, Margery - Albert Campion 15
  • His discourse was addressed to myself; but his voice, although by no means loud, had that intonation which is commonly employed in speaking to some one at a great distance. —  krimiblog.de
  • But however different their intonation, their rapport shows a chemistry that can only come from the sisterhood of the music industry.
  • Make sure the intonation is spot on. crazymandolinist —  Mandolin Cafe News
  • Under the Rorschach mask, his guttural growling of narration along the lines of calling Manhattan "an abattoir of retarded children" or a "city dying of rabies" is monotonous, but with the mask off, interacting with others, his every intonation is as pungent as if he were biting into a metal file with every word. —  Movie City News
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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

cadence ·  inflection ·  pronunciation ·  accent ·  drawl ·  twang ·  enunciation ·  idiom ·  timbre ·  undertone ·  rhythm ·  utterance

Used in the same contextWord Family

intonation:   intonations
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. from intonate + -ion.
  2. = French intonation = Italian intonazione; as intonate + -ion. Cf. detonation.
 

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/ɪntəˈneɪʃən/
by American Heritage

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