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toneless. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
toneless, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
toneless in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
toneless you have here. The definition of the word
toneless will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
toneless, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
From tone + -less.
Adjective
toneless (comparative more toneless, superlative most toneless)
- Lacking tone or expression.
1928, Radclyffe Hall, The Well of Loneliness, Garden City, NY: Blue Ribbon Books, Book 1, Chapter 7, Section 2, p. 71:And sure enough she had settled down at once, so that in less than two months it seemed to Stephen that Miss Puddleton must always have been at Morton, must always have been sitting at the large walnut table, must always have been saying in that dry, toneless voice with the Oxford accent: ‘You’ve forgotten something, Stephen,’ […]
1941, Emily Carr, chapter 4, in Klee Wyck:The Cumshewa totem poles were dark and colourless, the wood toneless from pouring rain.
- Lacking vitality; listless.
- (linguistics) Lacking tone or pitch, have the neutral tone.
Derived terms
Translations
lacking tone or expression
lacking vitality; listless
having no tone (in tonal languages)
Anagrams