intonation
noun/ˌɪntəˈneɪʃn/
/ˌɪntəˈneɪʃn/
- [uncountable, countable] (phonetics) the rise and fall of the voice in speaking, especially as this affects the meaning of what is being said
- intonation patterns
- In English, some questions have a rising intonation.
- Her voice was low with a faint regional intonation.
- the rising intonation at the end of spoken questions
- He’s studying intonation patterns in children’s speech.
WordfinderTopics Languageb1Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- falling
- flat
- rising
- …
- pattern
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- [uncountable] (music) the quality of playing or singing exactly in tune
- The violin’s intonation was poor.
Word Originearly 17th cent. (originally meaning the opening phrase of a plainsong melody): from medieval Latin intonatio(n-), from intonare, from in- ‘into’ + Latin tonus ‘tone’.
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intonation