tone painting
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of tone painting
First recorded in 1900–05
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.
And the “Pastoral,” which is easy to read as folk-inspired tone painting, was here more subtly evocative than straightforwardly illustrative.
From New York Times ● Feb. 26, 2020
These splendid studies in tone painting were all superbly performed by the Trinity Choir, obviously well prepared by Mr. Wachner, a composer and choral director of considerable experience.
From New York Times ● Oct. 17, 2010
Instead of piling on the venom with the song, Swift's "Innocent" takes a conciliatory tone, painting him as "32, and still growing up now."
From Reuters ● Oct. 15, 2010
In drawing his libretto from the Dostoevsky novelette, Prokofiev eliminated traditional arias, choruses, recitative and orchestral tone painting in favor of rata-tat-tat dialogue that clung too closely to Dostoevsky's original.
From Time Magazine Archive
Bluette is a beautiful piece of tone painting.
From Edward MacDowell by Porte, John F.
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.
