tonal

adjective

ton·​al ˈtō-nᵊl 

1

: of or relating to tone, tonality, or tonicity

2

: having tonality

tonally

ˈtō-nᵊl-ē 

adverb

Examples of tonal in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Keep things on the tonal side with swirls of black, dark blue, light blue, lavender, and white. — Amanda Le, InStyle, 29 June 2026

What was the biggest tonal challenge in writing characters who are both deeply flawed and deeply lovable? — Dominique Fluker, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026

Over the course of ten episodes, Patricia transformed into the tonal lynchpin of the series. — Josef Adalian, Vulture, 29 June 2026

The cozy stripes and tonal color palette add personality without taking over a room, while the flatweave style keeps the profile low, clean, and versatile. — Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 26 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

tone entry 1 + -al entry 1

First Known Use

1776, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for tonal

• clonal
• sonal
• zonal
• atonal
• coronal
• hormonal
• umbonal
• veronal
• embryonal
• monoclonal
• polyclonal

Kids Definition

tonal

adjective

ton·​al ˈtōn-ᵊl 

: of or relating to a musical tone

tonally

-ᵊl-ē 

adverb