TONAL Synonyms: 70 Similar and Opposite Words

tonal

adjective

Definition of tonal

as in harmonic

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of tonal Directors-screenwriters Erica Rivinoja (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, South Park) and Alessandro Carloni (the Kung Fu Panda films) throw a lot — indeed too much — into the mix, with the storyline lapsing into confusion and tonal muddiness. — Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 3 Nov. 2026 There’s also a conventional late-film tonal shift that doesn’t work, said Odie Henderson in The Boston Globe. — The Week Us, TheWeek, 3 Nov. 2026 The warm, tonal color palette gives the overall look a surprsingly soft effect. — Ariel Wodarcyk, InStyle, 29 Oct. 2026 People not understanding this is strange to me, because Star Wars has essentially been doing this for 50 years across movies, shows, games and books, admittedly without the tonal variety. — Tom Tapp, Deadline, 25 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for tonal

Recent Examples of Synonyms for tonal

Adjective

Ziggy Marley was headlining the show with Burning Spear, and the air was thick with the sound of harmonic lineage.

— Sophie Miller, Rolling Stone, 16 Oct. 2026
But at times, the caliber of their technical and harmonic choices sounds arty and sophisticated.

— Ernesto Lechner, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of harmonic

Adjective

Machover’s brilliant new half-hour orchestral score asks AI for agency.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2026
On orchestral tracks, like the opening scene to The Gospel According to the Other Mary by John Adams, the headphones also sounded very good.

— Christian de Looper, PC Magazine, 2 Nov. 2026

Definition of orchestral

Adjective

James, always an exacting rhythmic engineer, was now dividing the beat into fragments tiny enough to push at the very edge of rhythm itself.

— Andy Cush, Pitchfork, 31 Oct. 2026
Members of the orchestra, and sometimes the music director, select the excerpts to test technical skills, for example rhythmic precision or control in the high register.

— Jeremy Reynolds Ross Mantle, New York Times, 28 Oct. 2026

Definition of rhythmic

Adjective

Probably because at the time many of the time signatures and chordal progressions that Miles used were over the head of a young guitar player still functioning in the blues and folk idioms.

— Steve Baltin, Los Angeles Times, 25 May 2026
Hudson buttressed Al Kooper’s original organ part into a chordal fortress, part of an incendiary performance that surges to peak after peak.

— Jon Pareles, New York Times, 24 Jan. 2025

Definition of chordal

Adjective

In this grid, the revealer is at 57-Across, clued with [Hides one’s central point, in a way … with a doubly homophonic hint to 20-, 30-, 38- and 48-Across].

— Sean McGowan, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2026
My introduction to homophonic translation came from my former teacher, Mónica de la Torre.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 9 Jan. 2026

Definition of homophonic

Adjective

Why these sections have been singled out for annotation is a mystery, given that there are more dramatic and more obviously lyrical moments elsewhere in the poem.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 27 Oct. 2026
And, yes, this rendition represented a lyrical alteration by the Tonji that departed from the traditional wording of the French national anthem.

— Armando Salguero OutKick, FOXNews.com, 25 Oct. 2026

Definition of lyrical

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ton

tonal

tone

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“Tonal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tonal. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of tonal

adjective

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