adj · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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General-American:/eɪˈtoʊnəl/
Received-Pronunciation:/eɪˈtəʊnəl/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -əʊnəl
CMU ARPABET:EY0 T OW1 N AH0 L
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
adj
Meaning 1
Lacking a tonal center or key.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: entertainment, lifestyle, music
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
adj
Meaning 2
Not tonal, lacking tones.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: human-sciences, linguistics, sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
adjective
Meaning 3
characterized by avoidance of traditional western tonality
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: unkeyed
Antonyms: tonal
History
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Hellenic *ə- Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-)der. English a- English tonal English atonal From a- + tonal.
Across languages
Translations
21 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Catalan:
atonal
— lacking a tonal center or key (music)
Chinese Mandarin:
無調性的 /无调性的
(wúdiàoxìng de)
— lacking a tonal center or key (music)
Danish:
atonal
— lacking a tonal center or key (music)
Dutch:
atonaal
— lacking a tonal center or key (music)
Finnish:
atonaalinen
— lacking a tonal center or key (music)
Finnish:
sävellajiton
— lacking a tonal center or key (music)
French:
atonal
— lacking a tonal center or key (music)
German:
atonal
— lacking a tonal center or key (music)
Irish:
atonúil
— lacking a tonal center or key (music)
Italian:
atonale
— lacking a tonal center or key (music)
Polish:
atonalny
— lacking a tonal center or key (music)
Portuguese:
atonal
— lacking a tonal center or key (music)
Russian:
атона́льный
(atonálʹnyj)
— lacking a tonal center or key (music)
Serbo-Croatian:
а̏тона̄лан
— lacking a tonal center or key (music)
Serbo-Croatian:
ȁtonālan
— lacking a tonal center or key (music)
Slovene:
àtonálen
— lacking a tonal center or key (music)
Spanish:
atonal
— lacking a tonal center or key (music)
Swedish:
atonal
— lacking a tonal center or key (music)
Portuguese:
atonal
— not tonal, lacking tones (linguistics)
Russian:
атона́льный
(atonálʹnyj)
— not tonal, lacking tones (linguistics)
Russian:
бесто́новый
(bestónovyj)
— not tonal, lacking tones (linguistics)
