overtone
Higher partial frequency
Overtone refers to something implied or suggested beyond what's explicitly stated: The meeting had overtones of hostility.
The word often appears in the plural to describe secondary qualities or implications layered onto a primary meaning: political overtones, racial overtones.
In music and acoustics, an overtone is a frequency higher than the fundamental tone, contributing to the richness of a sound.
Forming the base
- partialsIncomplete sets or components
- harmonicsFrequencies above the fundamental
- timbreSound's distinctive character
- frequencyRate of recurrence
pitch · spectrum · vibration · acoustic · octave · resonance · waveform · amplitude
Implied sense, not dictionary
- implicationIndirect suggestion or consequence
- insinuationIndirect, usually negative suggestion
- suggestionIdea proposed for consideration
- hintIndirect suggestion
innuendo · allusion · subtext · undercurrent · intimation · inference · nuance · meaning
fundamental
Forming the base
- partialsIncomplete sets or components
- harmonicsFrequencies above the fundamental
- timbreSound's distinctive character
frequency · pitch · spectrum · vibration · acoustic · octave · resonance · waveform · amplitude · soundwave
connotation
Implied sense, not dictionary
- implicationIndirect suggestion or consequence
- insinuationIndirect, usually negative suggestion
- suggestionIdea proposed for consideration
hint · innuendo · allusion · subtext · undercurrent · intimation · inference · nuance · meaning · significance
mood
Prevailing emotional condition
vibe · coloring · quality · character · flavor · shade · tinge · suggestion · hint · undercurrent
overtoneliteral meaning
Exact, non-figurative interpretation
denotation · plain meaning · surface meaning · letter · face value