tonic accent

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noun

prominence given to a syllable in speaking, usually due to a change, especially a rise, in pitch.

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Origin of tonic accent

First recorded in 1865–70

Words nearby tonic accent

tonguing, tonguing-and-grooving plane, Toni, -tonia, tonic, tonic accent, tonicity, tonic sol-fa, tonight, tonk, tonka bean

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use tonic accent in a sentence

But the people from Valley Stream had such a thick New York accent that was all around me.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I struck up a conversation with a man in his fifties or sixties who had a Brooklyn accent.
I Ate Potato Pancakes Til I Plotzed|Emily Shire|December 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He seems miffed that Liv Ullmann would go off and do a musical when he was thinking of putting her, accent and all, in his movie.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Of course, in her Neverland they bleach your teeth so white they glow and Madonna coaches you on your convincing British accent.
‘Peter Pan Live!’ Review: No Amount of Clapping Brings It to Life|Kevin Fallon|December 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST

On it a young beardless man speaks Chechen and Arabic with a soft accent.
Fierce Fighting in Grozny Raises Specter of ISIS Influence in Russia|Anna Nemtsova|December 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And all over the world each language would be taught with the same accent and quantities and idioms—a very desirable thing indeed.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
The baron's pallid face looked more bloodless, his accent was fiercer, and his countenance more ruffianly as he uttered all this.
Checkmate|Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
Monsieur Ratignolle was delighted to see her, though he found her looking not so well as at Grand Isle, and he advised a tonic.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
And the familiar scenery, together with the wholesome exercise of sculling, acted as a tonic to his nerves.
Uncanny Tales|Various
As Ted suspected, the stranger was of Northern birth, which showed itself in his accent and cold, proud bearing.
The Cromptons|Mary J. Holmes

British Dictionary definitions for tonic accent

tonic accent

noun

emphasis imparted to a note by virtue of its having a higher pitch, rather than greater stress or long duration relative to other notes

another term for pitch accent

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012