as in atonal
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Recent Examples of tuneless
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
Luka Dončić made his Lakers debut Monday, Feb. 10, in a comfortable home win against the tuneless Utah Jazz.
—Steven Louis Goldstein, The Athletic, 12 Feb. 2025
Fletcher’s thrumming, didgeridoo voice—violently tuneless when singing and melodic in speech—is a counterpoint to Fliakos’s light, almost nasal timbre; Niall Cunningham and Andrew Maillet, as the President’s assistants, are their balancing male pair.
—Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2024
Winfrey’s musical reworking of The Color Purple is essentially tuneless and unpleasant.
—Armond White, National Review, 3 Jan. 2024
For the rest of the film Jenkins uses animation, vintage clips and a lot of interviews to re-create the whole Biz Markie experience: the raspy voice, the tuneless singing, and the love of anything kitschy, catchy and fun.
—Noel Murray, Los Angeles Times, 18 Aug. 2023
That baggy, shambling gang of tuneless no-hopers swept along on the glassy-eyed tide of post-acid house euphoria?
—Jonathan Bernstein, SPIN, 7 June 2023
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
Luka Dončić made his Lakers debut Monday, Feb. 10, in a comfortable home win against the tuneless Utah Jazz.
—Steven Louis Goldstein, The Athletic, 12 Feb. 2025
Fletcher’s thrumming, didgeridoo voice—violently tuneless when singing and melodic in speech—is a counterpoint to Fliakos’s light, almost nasal timbre; Niall Cunningham and Andrew Maillet, as the President’s assistants, are their balancing male pair.
—Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2024
Winfrey’s musical reworking of The Color Purple is essentially tuneless and unpleasant.
—Armond White, National Review, 3 Jan. 2024
For the rest of the film Jenkins uses animation, vintage clips and a lot of interviews to re-create the whole Biz Markie experience: the raspy voice, the tuneless singing, and the love of anything kitschy, catchy and fun.
—Noel Murray, Los Angeles Times, 18 Aug. 2023
That baggy, shambling gang of tuneless no-hopers swept along on the glassy-eyed tide of post-acid house euphoria?
—Jonathan Bernstein, SPIN, 7 June 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tuneless
Adjective
-
Someone strums a guitar below the bridge, throwing off an atonal shimmer.—
Philip Sherburne,
Pitchfork,
6 Jan. 2026
-
Then, in 2015, the artist Robin Rhode chose Times Square on a Saturday night as the site for his interpretation of a slow-motion, atonal Arnold Schönberg opera.—
Rachel Corbett,
Curbed,
22 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
Warming up, Smith throws back his head and belts Bieber lyrics, joyfully off-key.—
Sam Kestenbaum,
Vulture,
2 Jan. 2026
-
Gran’s butter yellow Cadillac was a welcome surprise in the school carpool line, her slightly off-key singing voice kept me entertained in the church pews on Sunday morning, and her dining room table was the joyful location of many family celebrations.—
Brennan Long,
Southern Living,
29 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
This unpleasant odor, Smith explained, is the result of something called asparagusic acid, which is unique to the vegetable.—
Daryl Austin,
USA Today,
14 Mar. 2026
-
In addition to unpleasant flavors, how your flour smells or looks can indicate spoilage.—
Hannah Lee Leidy,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
13 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Another bill would put regulations around data centers, although lawmakers in the final days stripped out some of the language that tech companies found disagreeable.—
Garrett Shanley,
Miami Herald,
13 Mar. 2026
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The day was cold and disagreeable, disappointing those who hoped for warm, sunny weather for the contest between Bogardus and Carver.—
AJ Willingham,
AJC.com,
24 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
And each dares to honor the humanity in characters often reduced to predators and prey by one faction, shrill social justice warriors and brave free thinkers by another.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
5 Mar. 2026
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In turn, the tone has changed around Newcastle these past few days; less shrill, less edgy, less perilous.—
George Caulkin,
New York Times,
19 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tuneless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tuneless. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026.
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