tone color
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of tone color
First recorded in 1880–85
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.
But in this new study that we’ve done, we looked at cases where people were using a skin tone color for their emoji that didn’t match their actual skin color.
From The Verge • Dec. 12, 2018
As a fiddler, though, to reach the top, she will need to cultivate a much wider range of tone color, particularly in slow, lyrical sections; the sound was too often dry or pinched.
From Washington Post • May 8, 2016
Mr. Appleby brought nervy physicality to the part, but could seem a little blank vocally, singing with smooth and pliant tone but few variations in tone color.
From New York Times • Apr. 24, 2016
The young composers followed suit mainly by putting much emphasis on tone color.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 13, 2015
Each voice has a unique tone color that is described using adjectives or metaphors such as “nasally,” “resonant,” “vibrant,” “strident,” “high,” “low,” “breathy,” “piercing,” “ringing,” “rounded,” “warm,” “mellow,” “dark,” “bright,” “heavy,” “light,” “vibrato.”
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
