timbre

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I don’t see why he didn’t shoot a tramp if he had to shoot somethin He wa’n’t tryin’ to shoot a cook, ’pears like," then cried Lucinda—Lucinda’s voice, be it said, en passant_, was of that sibilant and penetrating timbre which is best illustrated in the accents of a steamfitter’s file—"’pears like he was tryin’ for a cat Not a bat," said her mistress correctively; "it was a cat.

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Definitions (9)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. noun The combination of qualities of a sound that distinguishes it from other sounds of the same pitch and volume.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (5)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (2)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (1)

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Examples (50)

  • His voice has that same timbre, and he can play the hell out of a guitar.
  • For all its adolescent timbre, the rabbi's voice was compelling, bringing emotion to the time-worn lines. —  Lippman, Laura - [Tess Monaghan 01] - Baltimore Blues
  • It radiated feeling-tones that rattled the air with their timbre, and Quath suddenly understood.
  • The way we walk becomes as much a part of our individual identify as the timbre of our voices--distinct, perceptual reflections of who we are and how we happen to be feeling at any given moment. —  Omni: January 1993
  • The low Rutherford is always the case with peculiar timbre, and Tony Banks, well, what about that guy? —  Latest reviews @ Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website
 

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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

intonation ·  drawl ·  contralto ·  cadence ·  inflection ·  loudness ·  resonance ·  lilt ·  purr ·  undertone ·  overtone ·  twang
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 (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. French, from Old French, drum, clapperless bell, probably from Medieval Greek *timbanon, drum, from Greek tumpanon, kettledrum.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. from Middle English timbre, from Old French timbre, tymbre, a drum, from Latin tympanum, a drum: see tympan, tympanum. Cf. timbrel and timbre.
  2. from French timbre, timbre, a drum: see timbre.
 

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/ˈtɪmbər/
by American Heritage

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