as in tuneless
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Recent Examples of atonal
Gradually, the music mutates into something more alien: off-key chiming of a clock, percussive piano clanking and plucking, atonal saxophone solos that sound as if an instrument is being dropped.
—
Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 27 Feb. 2025
Right from the start, there’s a neo-noir like feel to Gerster’s suspenseful portrait, accentuated by its atonal and slightly disconcerting score.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 16 Feb. 2025
The atmosphere is enhanced by the hand-in-hand elements of Damian Volpe’s heavy soundscape and Robin Carolan’s moody score, which ranges from symphonic grandeur to agitato strings, pipes and horns specific to the region at that time to queasy atonal groans.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Dec. 2024
Ives’s legendary status initially rested on his reputation as a maverick pioneer who supposedly had beaten Schoenberg in the race to the atonal pole.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for atonal
Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 27 Feb. 2025
Right from the start, there’s a neo-noir like feel to Gerster’s suspenseful portrait, accentuated by its atonal and slightly disconcerting score.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 16 Feb. 2025
The atmosphere is enhanced by the hand-in-hand elements of Damian Volpe’s heavy soundscape and Robin Carolan’s moody score, which ranges from symphonic grandeur to agitato strings, pipes and horns specific to the region at that time to queasy atonal groans.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Dec. 2024
Ives’s legendary status initially rested on his reputation as a maverick pioneer who supposedly had beaten Schoenberg in the race to the atonal pole.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for atonal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for atonal
Adjective
-
Her aesthetics and tuneless vocals left audiences in awe and laughter.—
Raquel Willis,
Time,
19 June 2025
-
For the rest of us, a real musical comedy is a cause for celebration; most are either too tuneless to be musicals or too dull to be comedies.—
Jesse Green,
New York Times,
11 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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But the ever-reliable consumer is beginning to look shaky, courtesy of an unpleasant mix of a stagnating job market and sticky inflation.—
Eleanor Pringle,
Fortune,
29 Sep. 2025
-
The power is accompanied by a loud, unpleasant exhaust note.—
James Raia,
Mercury News,
28 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Over the weekend, reports emerged that the higher tariffs followed a disagreeable Thursday phone call between Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter and Trump — which Swiss officials rejected, according to Reuters.—
Sophie Kiderlin,Jenni Reid,
CNBC,
4 Aug. 2025
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Trump and his supporters prefer a happy history, a pleasant history that arouses patriotism by overlooking disagreeable people and despicable events that sully the nation’s reputation and mar the magnificence of the American story.—
William C. Hine,
Twin Cities,
23 July 2025
Adjective
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Singing off-key, dancing around, and grabbing a slice of pizza before heading out kept her in high spirits.—
Larry Stansbury,
Essence,
19 Sep. 2025
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And broadcasting your irritation too loudly risks ruining the atmosphere for everyone else just as much as their yelling or off-key chants.—
Mary Catherine McAnnally Scott,
Southern Living,
6 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
With a white leather upper, the pair uses the Air Jordan 5’s classic color blocking with a reflective metallic silver tongue and a mixture of Sunset orange and a Jordan staple Fire Red shade.—
Riley Jones,
Footwear News,
7 Oct. 2025
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Sánchez opted for a silver metallic mini dress with subtle boning and a black overcoat.—
Madison E. Goldberg,
PEOPLE,
7 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The work contains sonorous bouts of sorrow, but rage is its primary register.—
Alex Ross,
New Yorker,
6 Oct. 2025
-
Matisse, sober in mind and appearance, with sonorous, albeit economic French.—
Christopher C. Gorham
September 29,
Literary Hub,
29 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Atonal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/atonal. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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