subtone
Beneath the surface
A subtone is a quiet or subdued tone of voice, often used to avoid being overheard: She spoke in a subtone so the children wouldn't hear.
The word also describes an underlying quality or implication beneath what's explicitly expressed—a meaning that runs below the surface: There was a subtone of resentment in his congratulations.
Made quieter or softer
- softenedMade less severe
- faintWeak and indistinct
- whisperyQuietly soft-spoken quality
- hushedReduced to silence
gentle · restrained · understated · quiet · low-key · delicate · mellow · sotto voce
Indirect suggestion or consequence
- connotationImplied sense, not dictionary
- hintIndirect suggestion
- insinuationIndirect, usually negative suggestion
- suggestionIdea proposed for consideration
innuendo · allusion · intimation · shade · inflection · undercurrent · subtext · inference
Subsidiary meaning or harmonic
- resonanceAmplified oscillation at natural frequency
- timbreSound's distinctive character
- pitchFrequency of sound
- intervalDuration between two points
vibrato · sonority · modulation · cadence · chord · consonance · octave · fundamental
muted
Made quieter or softer
hushed · gentle · restrained · understated · quiet · low-key · delicate · mellow · sotto voce · murmur
implication
Indirect suggestion or consequence
- connotationImplied sense, not dictionary
- hintIndirect suggestion
- insinuationIndirect, usually negative suggestion
suggestion · innuendo · allusion · intimation · shade · inflection · undercurrent · subtext · inference · layer
overtone
Subsidiary meaning or harmonic
- resonanceAmplified oscillation at natural frequency
- timbreSound's distinctive character
- pitchFrequency of sound
interval · vibrato · sonority · modulation · cadence · chord · consonance · octave · fundamental · partial
- wind techniquesembouchure, articulation, fingering, tonguing, breathing
subtonefortissimo
Very loud, musically
blare · blast · full voice · projection · bright tone
tone, tonic, monotone, intonation, undertone, tonality, atonal, semitone, undertones