set the tone
idiom
: to establish a quality, feeling, or attitude by a manner of speaking or writing
Her lighthearted question set the tone for the rest of the interview.
Examples of set the tone in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Grapevine baseball starts, finishes strong Grapevine’s offense set the tone early with a four run first inning.
—
Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 June 2024
Flowers and peaceful water gardens set the tone of the atmosphere here, while the Musée des Impressionnismes offers a deeper dive into a multitude of Impressionist masterpieces.
—Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 5 June 2024
At the plate, the Twins set the tone fairly early in the game.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 27 May 2024
The race’s winner come 2025 and the ultimate political makeup of the Texas House will likely set the tone of the session.
—Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 May 2024
Sounds of the Friday night drum circle fill the air as a light mist falls, and the moody mountains set the tone for my first night.
—Carrie Honaker, Travel + Leisure, 29 May 2024
After showing her power with two home runs and a double Friday, Maya Brady set the tone Friday with two singles that led to two runs and one RBI.
—Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 25 May 2024
NBCUniversal set the tone for the week when its Monday morning presentation kicked off with the trailer for feature film Wicked that was screened exclusively for attendees before it was released wide the following day.
—Lesley Goldberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 May 2024
The University of Denver men’s lacrosse team set the tone early with seven goals in the opening 15 minutes of its first-round NCAA Tournament game against Michigan, then kept the Wolverines at arm’s length the rest of the way to claim a 16-11 win at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium.
—The Denver Post, 11 May 2024
Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 June 2024
Flowers and peaceful water gardens set the tone of the atmosphere here, while the Musée des Impressionnismes offers a deeper dive into a multitude of Impressionist masterpieces.
—Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 5 June 2024
At the plate, the Twins set the tone fairly early in the game.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 27 May 2024
The race’s winner come 2025 and the ultimate political makeup of the Texas House will likely set the tone of the session.
—Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 May 2024
Sounds of the Friday night drum circle fill the air as a light mist falls, and the moody mountains set the tone for my first night.
—Carrie Honaker, Travel + Leisure, 29 May 2024
After showing her power with two home runs and a double Friday, Maya Brady set the tone Friday with two singles that led to two runs and one RBI.
—Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 25 May 2024
NBCUniversal set the tone for the week when its Monday morning presentation kicked off with the trailer for feature film Wicked that was screened exclusively for attendees before it was released wide the following day.
—Lesley Goldberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 May 2024
The University of Denver men’s lacrosse team set the tone early with seven goals in the opening 15 minutes of its first-round NCAA Tournament game against Michigan, then kept the Wolverines at arm’s length the rest of the way to claim a 16-11 win at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium.
—The Denver Post, 11 May 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'set the tone.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near set the tone
Cite this Entry
“Set the tone.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/set%20the%20tone. Accessed 13 Jun. 2024.
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