tenor

American  

[ten-er] / ˈtɛn ər /

noun

1. the course of thought or meaning that runs through something written or spoken; purport; drift.

   Synonyms:

   gist, substance, content, import, sense

2. continuous course, progress, or movement.

3. Rhetoric. the subject of a metaphor, as “she” in “She is a rose.”

4. Music.

   1. the adult male voice intermediate between the bass and the alto or countertenor.

   2. a part sung by or written for such a voice, especially the next to the lowest part in four-part harmony.

   3. a singer with such a voice.

   4. an instrument corresponding in compass to this voice, especially the viola.

   5. the lowest-toned bell of a peal.

5. quality, character, or condition.

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adjective

1. Music. of, relating to, or having the compass of a tenor.

tenor British  

/ ˈtɛnə /

noun

1. music

   1. the male voice intermediate between alto and baritone, having a range approximately from the B a ninth below middle C to the G a fifth above it

   2. a singer with such a voice

   3. a saxophone, horn, recorder, etc, intermediate in compass and size between the alto and baritone or bass

   4. ( as modifier )

      a tenor sax

2. general drift of thought; purpose

   to follow the tenor of an argument

3. 1. (in early polyphonic music) the part singing the melody or the cantus firmus

   2. (in four-part harmony) the second lowest part lying directly above the bass

4. Leisure:Bell-ringing

   1. the heaviest and lowest-pitched bell in a ring

   2. ( as modifier )

      a tenor bell

5. a settled course of progress

6. archaic general tendency

7. finance the time required for a bill of exchange or promissory note to become due for payment

8. law

   1. the exact words of a deed, etc, as distinct from their effect

   2. an exact copy or transcript

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tenor Cultural  

1. The highest range of the male singing voice. (Compare baritone and bass.)

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Other Word Forms

• tenorless adjective

Etymology

Origin of tenor

1250–1300; < Medieval Latin, Latin: course, continuity, tone, equivalent to ten ( ēre ) to hold + -or -or ¹; replacing Middle English ten ( o ) ur < Anglo-French < Latin, as above

Explanation

Think of a tenor as a tone — in music, it's the range between baritone and alto in the human voice or in an instrument such as a tenor saxophone. It also is the "tone" or meaning of a spoken comment. The meaning of the Latin word tenere, was "to hold to a course." Then the Old French took the word tenour in the 14th Century, giving it the meaning of “sense,” or a general feeling of a comment. But that same century, the original meaning resurfaced when the word entered the musical lexicon as the Italian tenore, or tenor, the name given to the high male voice because that was the voice that carried, or “held on to” the melody.

Example Sentences

Assassination attempts can also soften the tenor of how the media covers presidents.

From Slate • Apr. 26, 2026

The proceedings offer a peek into the lives of America’s growing ranks of millionaires and billionaires, and how wealth can alter the tenor of a marriage and shape its unwinding.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 22, 2026

Finnish conductor Sakari Oramo will oversee the celebrations for the seventh time, alongside tenor Nicky Spence and pianist Yuja Wang, who will give the Proms' debut of Samuel Barber's Pulitzer Prize-winning Piano Concerto.

From BBC • Apr. 20, 2026

This verdict is in keeping with the tenor of the last 50 years of classical scholarship, which has moved past—perhaps too far past—any idealizing visions of Pericles and Athens.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

He had a fair tenor and reasonably clever fingers.

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

Related Words

• gist
• mood
• theme
• tone