tone-setter
noun
: a person or thing that determines or establishes a quality, feeling, or attitude
I like to use the joke as a tone-setter for my speeches.
Examples of tone-setter in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Possibly the toughest move for the locker room would be parting ways with White, a two-time Pro Bowl selection and longtime tone-setter for Sean McDermott's defense.
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Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz, USA TODAY, 22 Feb. 2024
What Ohio State’s rout of Western Kentucky means for a pivotal top-10 trip to Notre Dame
Ohio State’s defensive line woke up just in time for things to get serious: Stephen Means’ observations
The third-year cornerback has emerged as the tone-setter and the standard-lifter for the secondary.
—Nathan Baird, cleveland, 18 Sep. 2023
Terrance Williams/Associated Press The first shot of the season was a tone-setter.
—Julian Benbow, BostonGlobe.com, 3 July 2023
As the Bears try to build up their offense around quarterback Justin Fields, general manager Ryan Poles and his staff believe Wright can be a tone-setter on the line.
—Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune, 29 Apr. 2023
Altuve was a tone-setter at the top of the lineup.
—Peter Abraham, BostonGlobe.com, 1 Apr. 2023
Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz, USA TODAY, 22 Feb. 2024
What Ohio State’s rout of Western Kentucky means for a pivotal top-10 trip to Notre Dame
Ohio State’s defensive line woke up just in time for things to get serious: Stephen Means’ observations
The third-year cornerback has emerged as the tone-setter and the standard-lifter for the secondary.
—Nathan Baird, cleveland, 18 Sep. 2023
Terrance Williams/Associated Press The first shot of the season was a tone-setter.
—Julian Benbow, BostonGlobe.com, 3 July 2023
As the Bears try to build up their offense around quarterback Justin Fields, general manager Ryan Poles and his staff believe Wright can be a tone-setter on the line.
—Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune, 29 Apr. 2023
Altuve was a tone-setter at the top of the lineup.
—Peter Abraham, BostonGlobe.com, 1 Apr. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tone-setter.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Tone-setter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tone-setter. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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