SINCE 1828
intonation pattern
nounDefinition of intonation pattern
: a unit of speech melody in a language or dialect that contributes to the total meaning of an utterance
one's intonation pattern in the utterance of dead may reveal one's emotional reaction to an announcement of death one intonation pattern makes leave a command, another makes it a question
Comments on intonation pattern
What made you want to look up intonation pattern? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Vocabulary
Farm Idioms Quiz
-
- What does 'poke' refer to in the expression 'pig in a poke'?
Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Words at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games
-
Farm Idioms Quiz
Not your children's farm quiz.
Take the quiz -
Up in the Sky: A Quiz
It's a bird? It's a plane? No, I'm really asking. What is it?
Take the quiz -
Name That Thing
Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!
Take the quiz -
Add Diction
Build a chain of words by adding one letter at a time.
Play the game
Share intonation pattern
Resources for intonation pattern