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overtone

American  
[oh-ver-tohn] / ˈoʊ vərˌtoʊn /

noun

  1. Music. an acoustical frequency that is higher in frequency than the fundamental.

  2. an additional, usually subsidiary and implicit meaning or quality.

    an aesthetic theory with definite political overtones.
    Synonyms:
    hint, intimation, suggestion, insinuation
overtone British  
/ ˈəʊvəˌtəʊn /

noun

  1. (often plural) additional meaning or nuance

    overtones of despair

  2. music acoustics any of the tones, with the exception of the fundamental, that constitute a musical sound and contribute to its quality, each having a frequency that is a multiple of the fundamental frequency See also harmonic partial

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
overtone Scientific  
/ ō′vər-tōn′ /

  1. See under harmonic

Etymology

Origin of overtone

1865–70; translation of German Oberton. See over-, tone

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In solo performances, Mr. Taborn sometimes dissolves his music into glorious and otherworldly overtones without losing its momentum.

From The Wall Street Journal

The overtones of Roman sculpture probably owe something to Bellini’s close relationship with his brother-in-law Andrea Mantegna, known for sharply drawn images, informed by his study of antiquity.

From The Wall Street Journal

The significant difference in the masses of the colliding black holes also produced a "higher harmonic," a kind of overtone similar to those heard in musical instruments.

From Science Daily

Sam Quinones celebrates this ungainly instrument and its players in “The Perfect Tuba,” a delightfully offbeat book with unexpectedly profound overtones.

From The Wall Street Journal

Though the recurrent phrase “citizen of the United States” had strong nationalist overtones, perhaps the framers did not mean to codify a one-size-fits-all approach.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.