View synonyms for overtone

overtone

[ oh-ver-tohn ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

Music. an acoustical frequency that is higher in frequency than the fundamental.
an additional, usually subsidiary and implicit meaning or quality:
an aesthetic theory with definite political overtones.
Synonyms: intimation, hint, suggestion, insinuation

overtone

/ ˈəʊvəˌtəʊn /

often plural additional meaning or nuance
overtones of despair
music acoustics any of the tones, with the exception of the fundamental, that constitute a musical sound and contribute to its quality, each having a frequency that is a multiple of the fundamental frequency See also harmonic partial

overtone

/ ō′vər-tōn′ /

1865–70; translation of German Oberton. See over-, tone

I know this is the word used in English but “Holocaust” has a sacrificial overtone that is unbearable to me.

Since this is a law of vibration, it is unscientific to speak of giving an overtone, for all tones contain overtones.

Impassioned it continued, and yet with the overtone of a great pity and tenderness now vibrating through it.

But now quiet, save for an undescribable, whispering overtone that seemed to permeate the air.

In any overtone, the number of the parts or vibrating segments of the string is one more than the number of the overtone.

And the tinkle of myriad glass wind bells held a maddening overtone.

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