Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To recite in a singing tone.
- intransitive verb To utter in a monotone.
- intransitive verb To speak with a singing tone or with a particular intonation.
- intransitive verb Music To sing a plainsong intonation.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To give tone or variety of tone to; vocalize.
- To bring into tone or tune; figuratively, to imbue with a particular tone of feeling.
- To speak or recite with the singing voice: as, to
intone the litany. - To utter a tone; utter a protracted sound.
- Specifically To use a monotone in pronouncing or repeating; speak or recite with the singing voice; chant.
- In music:
- To produce a tone, or a particular series of tones, like a scale, especially with the voice; sing or chant.
- In plainsong, to sing the intonation of a chant or melody.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- intransitive verb To utter a prolonged tone or a deep, protracted sound; to speak or recite in a measured, sonorous manner; to intonate.
- transitive verb To utter with a musical or prolonged note or tone; to chant.
- transitive verb To speak with a distinctive or unusual tone in the voice, or in a monotone.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb transitive To give
tone or variety of tone to; tovocalize . - verb transitive To utter with a
musical orprolonged note or tone; to speak orrecite with singingvoice ; tochant ; as, to intone the church service. - verb intransitive To utter a tone; utter a
protracted sound.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb recite with musical intonation; recite as a chant or a psalm
- verb speak carefully, as with rising and falling pitch or in a particular tone
- verb utter monotonously and repetitively and rhythmically
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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When recalling Vance’s little speech at third base, Bressler did not use the word intone at least not here, nor did he use the words peruse, protagonist, or occupancy in his story.
ROB NEYER’S BIG BOOK OF BASEBALL LEGENDS ROB NEYER 2008
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We all want the telecommunications giants to profit, and they intone corporate social responsibility well, but these kinds of dialogue never reach many people on Chicago's Southside or in Tottenham and Hackney.
Bernard Rowan: And the Bands Played On Bernard Rowan 2011
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Back when people relied on stately anchors to gravely intone the important events of the day, even when the only story that mattered was slowly leaking out of a country that sealed up access to any information.
First Person: Japan evokes recollections from Chernobyl 2011
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The night is dark; on throne of stone, his fist was stark; but angels hark now, all intone:
The Lucifer Cantos 13/13 Hal Duncan 2009
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Sadly, the film is poorly made and condescending intone.
The Volokh Conspiracy » Ten Rules for Dealing with Police 2010
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The administration's reaction to the IMF's criticism was to intone the mantra that it plans to halve the federal deficit in five years.
Bond Market, Arnold Kling | EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty 2009
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And the whole exercise is needlessly, excessively hostile intone.
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We all want the telecommunications giants to profit, and they intone corporate social responsibility well, but these kinds of dialogue never reach many people on Chicago's Southside or in Tottenham and Hackney.
Bernard Rowan: And the Bands Played On Bernard Rowan 2011
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The pharmaceutical industry will intone its familiar mantra: The cost of drugs is a relatively small percentage of total health care costs; innovation requires investment; research-based companies need to realize an adequate return on investment; and companies often establish access programs for destitute patients.
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We all want the telecommunications giants to profit, and they intone corporate social responsibility well, but these kinds of dialogue never reach many people on Chicago's Southside or in Tottenham and Hackney.
Bernard Rowan: And the Bands Played On Bernard Rowan 2011
yarb commented on the word intone
...in Assembly, as the Assistant Head
was intoning the Lord's Prayer...
- Peter Reading, Alma Mater, from Tom O' Bedlam's Beauties, 1981
June 28, 2008