tone policing

American  

[tohn puh-lee-sing] / ˈtoʊn pəˌli sɪŋ /

noun

1. a conversational tactic that dismisses the ideas being communicated when they are perceived to be delivered in an angry, frustrated, sad, fearful, or otherwise emotionally charged manner: Tone policing can silence the narratives of oppressed populations.

   It’s condescending to shut down an argument through tone policing.

   Tone policing can silence the narratives of oppressed populations.

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Other Word Forms

• tone police plural noun
• tone-police verb (used with object)

Etymology

Origin of tone policing

First recorded in 2015–20

Example Sentences

Or maybe I’m just tone policing, being thin-skinned, defensive and deflective.

From New York Times

Ms. Tlaib quickly responded with a tweet stating “House Democratic leadership should be ashamed of its relentless, exclusive tone policing of Congresswomen of color.”

From Washington Times

The episode, the latest dust-up between the House Democratic establishment and the progressive “Squad,” prompted Rep. Rashida Tlaib, Michigan Democrat, to tweet Thursday that “House Democratic leadership should be ashamed of its relentless, exclusive tone policing of Congresswomen of color.”

From Washington Times

“House Democratic leadership should be ashamed of its relentless, exclusive tone policing of Congresswomen of color.”

From Washington Post

Characters spend a lot of recycled air critiquing one another’s diction, complaining about tone, policing shades of connotation, getting huffy about “jargon,” measuring the gestation of pregnant pauses, and generally tracing one another’s figures of speech.

From The New Yorker