intonation
intonation — noun
1. The pattern of upward and downward pitch changes in a person's voice during spee
The pattern of upward and downward pitch changes in a person's voice during speech, which helps express whether they are asking a question, making a statement, or showing emotion.
With a rising intonation at the end, Mira turned her statement into a question.
rising intonation to turn a statement into a question
Haruto could tell from his mother's intonation that she was not pleased with his grades.
To sound polite when making a request, try using a gentle, falling intonation.
The actor Imani used different intonation patterns for each character in the play.
Shirin practiced the question's rising intonation every day before the speech contest.
- inflection
more specific to small pitch changes within a syllable or word; technical in linguistics
- pitch
the general highness or lowness of a sound, not the pattern of changes
- cadence
the rhythmic rise and fall of speech, especially at the end of a phrase
用法筆記
Commonly paired with adjectives describing pitch direction: rising intonation (typical of yes/no questions) and falling intonation (typical of statements and commands). In language classes, intonation is often drilled together with sentence stress.
常見錯誤
2. The accuracy with which a musician plays or sings notes at the correct pitch, wi
The accuracy with which a musician plays or sings notes at the correct pitch, without sounding too high (sharp) or too low (flat).
Kabir's violin teacher praised the clear intonation in his performance of the sonata.
Tuan practised scales every morning to improve his intonation on the trumpet.
practise + scales + to improve intonation on [instrument]
The conductor stopped the orchestra to fix the intonation of the woodwind section.
The choir conductor stopped Ayesha mid-song to fix her intonation on the final note.
- pitch accuracy
more technical; focuses on hitting the exact note rather than overall quality
- tuning
the process of adjusting pitch, often applied to instruments rather than players
用法筆記
In music contexts, intonation is uncountable and is typically modified by evaluative adjectives (good, poor, perfect, clear) or by directional terms (sharp, flat) that describe pitch deviation.