intone
Americanverb (used with object)
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intones,
present (3rd person singular)
-
intoned,
past participle, past
-
intoning
present participle
-
to utter with a particular tone or voice modulation.
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to give tone or variety of tone to; vocalize.
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to utter in a singing voice (the first tones of a section in a liturgical service).
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to recite or chant in monotone.
verb (used without object)
-
intones,
present (3rd person singular)
-
intoned,
past participle, past
-
intoning
present participle
-
to speak or recite in a singing voice, especially in monotone; chant.
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Music. to produce a tone, or a particular series of tones, like a scale, especially with the voice.
verb
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to utter, recite, or sing (a chant, prayer, etc) in a monotonous or incantatory tone
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(intr) to speak with a particular or characteristic intonation or tone
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to sing (the opening phrase of a psalm, etc) in plainsong
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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intonesimple
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intonessimple
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have intonedperfect
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has intonedperfect
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am intoningprogressive
-
are intoningprogressive
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is intoningprogressive
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have been intoningperfect progressive
-
has been intoningperfect progressive
Past
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intonedsimple
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had intonedperfect
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was intoningprogressive
-
were intoningprogressive
-
had been intoningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of intone
1475–85; < Medieval Latin intonāre; replacing earlier entone < Middle French entoner < Medieval Latin; see in- 2, tone
Explanation
To intone is to to chant in a flat voice. When you recite a poem you had to memorize in English class, you're likely to intone the lines without much expression. You might intone bad news over the phone, bluntly and unemotionally, and librarians often intone a low command to keep the noise down in the library. People reciting prayers usually intone them as well. In the fourteenth century, the word was entunen, "sing, chant or recite," from a Latin root, intonare, "sing according to tone."
Vocabulary lists containing intone
Number the Stars
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Bless Me, Ultima
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Purple Hibiscus
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Those are the first words of the military Oath of Enlistment—the words that new members of the military, with right hands raised, intone as they join the service.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 29, 2026
Separated from their calves to produce milk, they intone musical verses about their motherly desperation.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 25, 2023
Akbar ceased performing the obligatory five prayers that Muslims must intone every day and began to worship “divine light.”
From Textbooks ● Dec. 14, 2022
When I was growing up, my father — always eager to instruct his backward son — would regularly intone the phrase, “I shall pass this way but once.”
From Washington Post ● May 25, 2022
Seven raised her hands, about to intone a spell that made shadows look like monstruos, when the cuco let out a piercing scream and spun around toward Seven.
From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega
“You have delighted us long enough,” Grant intones, repeating Austen’s famous line.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 2026
"Holiday let, second home, second home, holiday let, second home, holiday let," she intones.
From BBC ● Feb. 25, 2026
“It is as if the demands of his spirit were too extreme for flesh and blood,” Ms. Marcus intones.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 5, 2025
“If you come just for the mozzarella sticks, like, I wouldn’t judge you,” one TikTokker intones in an April 2024 video that’s been viewed 6.5 million times.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2025
“San Miguel,” Chucha intones, “protect this house from all enemies. Expel the bad. Bring all to safety who dwell within. Amen.”
From "Before We Were Free" by Julia Alvarez
"It's going to be he and I going to November," Bianco intoned at a recent televised debate, nodding towards Hilton.
From Barron's ● May 5, 2026
When asked about immigration, she consistently intoned: “Our immigration system is broken.”
From Salon ● Mar. 11, 2025
“We need to change the conversation, because so many people see things on television that aren’t necessarily true,” he intoned gravely.
From Slate ● Mar. 3, 2025
He was joined on stage by the song's producer, Mustard, who clutched a football while sporting the world's baggiest jeans - before Lamar pointed an imaginary remote control at the camera and intoned, "Game Over".
From BBC ● Feb. 9, 2025
“You’d better come along with us, Father,” a lean, hawkfaced major on the chaplain’s other side intoned with reverential sorrow.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
It was an unusual mission for Avraamiy, whose days are usually filled with intoning prayers, counseling his flock and leading the clergymen from the Orthodox Church of Ukraine at the monastery.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
If You're Glad I'll Be Frank imagined the speaking clock as a real woman speaking live, her internal monologue utterly at odds with the deadening repetitiveness of endlessly intoning "at the third stroke..."
From BBC ● Nov. 29, 2025
“Bastards” features Kristofferson’s voice at the end, intoning the line, and is the reason for his co-writing credit, given with permission from his widow.
From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2025
Mr. Roet, who survived the Holocaust by hiding in a Dutch village, came up with the simple but powerful idea of memorializing Jewish victims of the Nazis by intoning their names.
From New York Times ● Jun. 21, 2023
“Let’s all rise for some deep yoga breaths,” Ms. Wyman announces, her voice all of a sudden dripping maple syrup.Addie goes, “But—” and is cut off by Ms. Wyman intoning, “Breathe innnn.”
From "The Misfits" by James Howe
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