tonal

Example Sentences

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 Kirsten Fitzgerald directs the world premiere of Green’s dramedy about an unlikely friendship, which has its touching moments, even if some of the narrative turns and tonal shifts feel rather sudden or far-fetched. Emily McClanathan, Chicago Tribune, 8 May 2025 Top it off with a pair of tonal sunglasses to complete the luxurious look. Abby Morgan Lebet, Glamour, 5 May 2025 The tonal trick The move: Style your silk midiskirt with a top in the same color family—perhaps a cotton button-down shirt or a matching cardigan. Ruhama Wolle, Glamour, 2 May 2025 Perhaps the most regrettable misstep is the finale, which takes the series in a wildly different tonal direction and slides in a couple of last-minute twists, including one blatantly designed to set up a potential second season. Jen Chaney, Vulture, 1 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for tonal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tonal
Adjective
  • The major-sevenths, by stuffing four notes into the chords, offered greater harmonic options, and Sikes was determined to take advantage of them, encouraging Wayne to incorporate the dissonant notes into her high harmonies.
    Tom Roland, Billboard, 22 Apr. 2025
  • By using these recycled devices—including pulse oximeters, harmonic scalpels and EP catheters—health systems across the globe reduced CO2 emissions by 115,382,133 pounds last year.
    Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Strouse also composed orchestral works, chamber music, piano concertos, and an opera.
    Greg Evans, Deadline, 15 May 2025
  • From May 8 to 18, orchestras from around the world will convene in Amsterdam to perform the composer and conductor’s complete orchestral works, marathon-style.
    Hannah Edgar, Chicago Tribune, 14 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • After a moment of calibration, the machine naturally transitions into a rhythmic gait.
    Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 8 May 2025
  • The album features a rich combination of string instruments — Noah Leong on viola, Claudius Agrippa on violin, and Noam Tanzer on bass — all grounded by the rhythmic pulse of Ransom McCafferty on drums.
    Michaela Zee, Variety, 5 May 2025
Adjective
  • 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
  • Learning Greene’s chordal vocabulary on this record, living in his perfect counterpoint, is a constant inspiration for me.
    Giovanni Russonello, New York Times, 8 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • In turn, her fiction felt lively and polyphonic.
    Sanjena Sathian, Vulture, 24 Feb. 2025
  • The movie’s polyphonic introduction is also not sustained.
    Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 25 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • How does this make any sense except as a very stupid, clumsy, idiotic no good way to give us a homophonic bridge to Gandalf.
    Erik Kain, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2024
  • The content creator also used a homophonic slur at several points throughout the clip.
    Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News, 1 Aug. 2024
Adjective
  • Tim has finally crossed the lyrical genre off his bucket list with Juliet & Romeo (now playing in theaters nationwide; click here for tickets).
    Josh Weiss, Forbes.com, 11 May 2025
  • And while the cursed lineage trope can be clichéd, Theodoridou’s lyrical prose takes otherwise disposable lines and turns them into poetry.
    New York Times, New York Times, 1 May 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Tonal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tonal. Accessed 25 May. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!