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• tonic
  tonic

  noun

  a medicine that invigorates or strengthens.
• -tonic
  -tonic

  a combining form occurring in adjectives that correspond to nouns ending in -tonia:

tonic

¹ American  

[ton-ik] / ˈtɒn ɪk /

noun

• tonics
  plural

1. a medicine that invigorates or strengthens.

   a tonic of sulphur and molasses.

2. anything invigorating physically, mentally, or morally.

   His cheerful greeting was a real tonic.

   Synonyms:

   pickup, bracer, restorative, stimulant

3. quinine water.

4. Music. the first degree of the scale; the keynote.

5. Chiefly Eastern New England. soda pop.

6. Phonetics. a tonic syllable or accent.

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adjective

1. pertaining to, maintaining, increasing, or restoring the tone or health of the body or an organ, as a medicine.

2. invigorating physically, mentally, or morally.

3. Physiology, Pathology.

   1. pertaining to tension, as of the muscles.

   2. marked by continued muscular tension.

      a tonic spasm.

4. using differences in tone or pitch to distinguish between words that are otherwise phonemically identical.

   a tonic language.

5. pertaining to tone or accent in speech.

6. Phonetics. (of a syllable) bearing the principal stress or accent, usually accompanied by a change in pitch.

7. Music.

   1. of or relating to a tone or tones.

   2. pertaining to or founded on the keynote, or first tone, of a musical scale.

      a tonic chord.

-tonic ² American  

1. a combining form occurring in adjectives that correspond to nouns ending in -tonia:

   catatonic.

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tonic British  

/ ˈtɒnɪk /

noun

1. a medicinal preparation intended to improve and strengthen the functioning of the body or increase the feeling of wellbeing

2. anything that enlivens or strengthens

   his speech was a tonic to the audience

3. Also called: tonic water.  a mineral water, usually carbonated and containing quinine and often mixed with gin or other alcoholic drinks

4. music

   1. the first degree of a major or minor scale and the tonal centre of a piece composed in a particular key

   2. a key or chord based on this

5. a stressed syllable in a word

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adjective

1. serving to enliven and invigorate

   a tonic wine

2. of or relating to a tone or tones

3. music of or relating to the first degree of a major or minor scale

4. of or denoting the general effect of colour and light and shade in a picture

5. physiol of, relating to, characterized by, or affecting normal muscular or bodily tone

   a tonic spasm

6. of or relating to stress or the main stress in a word

7. denoting a tone language

Regionalisms

See soda pop.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• pretonic
  noun
• antitonic
  adjective
• nontonic
  adjective
• tonically
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• tonics
  plural

Etymology

Origin of tonic¹

First recorded in 1640–50, tonic is from the Greek word tonikós pertaining to stretching or tones. See tone, -ic

Origin of -tonic²

see origin at tonic

Explanation

A tonic is something, sometimes a medicine, that makes you feel better or restores you to health. Before doctors prescribed drugs, crooked salesmen sold all sorts of dubious tonics. Tonic was used to describe all sorts of concoctions that were supposed to make you feel better or livelier. Some helped and some didn’t. Coca Cola was originally marketed as a tonic — back when it is said to have contained cocaine as well as loads of caffeine. These days we might describe a weekend at the beach or a brisk walk as a tonic, meaning it will refresh you. Others might flee to a gin and tonic — an alcoholic drink.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tonic tonics

Children’s books, revisited with adult eyes, can be a kind of tonic.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

On Friday morning, the cafe and tonic bar in the Manhattan Beach Erewhon was bustling with customers ordering smoothies, coffees and breakfast.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026

In the UK, decent runs for England and Scotland may be just the tonic after years of never-ending political and economic crises.

From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2026

In some of those pockets, homelessness and street crime are the most salient issues facing the city, and Pratt’s apocalyptic talk about them landed as a tonic.

From Slate ● Jun. 9, 2026

This will take you to the tonic one octave higher than where you began, and includes all the notes in the key in that octave.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones

A broken car AC and soaring L.A. summer temperatures sent one writer on a search for cooling remedies and tonics.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026

We’re all sitting at home sipping adaptogenic mushroom tonics, journaling our feelings and politely declining invitations to any event after 7 p.m. because we’d rather optimize our sleep scores than take a tequila shot.

From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026

Zoo staff provided ventilation and water to cool her down, and later administered subcutaneous fluids, liver tonics and vitamins.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

Cafes and teahouses in Beijing and Chengdu now double as pseudo-temples, selling fortune charms, herbal infusions, and “Stay-Up-Late Water” tonics meant to balance urban overstimulation.

From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2025

They had tonics and concoctions to help them sleep.

From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera