Standard Lemma guide

tonality

noun · 5 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

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /təʊnˈæl.ɪ.tiː/
  • US: /toʊnˈæl.ɪ.ti/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ælɪti
  • CMU ARPABET: T OW0 N AE1 L AH0 T IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The system of seven tones built on a tonic key; the 24 major and minor scales.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: entertainment, lifestyle, music

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A sound of specific pitch and quality; timbre.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: entertainment, lifestyle, music

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

The quality of all the tones in a composition heard in relation to the tonic.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: entertainment, lifestyle, music

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

The interrelation of the tones in a painting.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

any of 24 major or minor diatonic scales that provide the tonal framework for a piece of music

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: key

Antonyms: atonality

Broader terms: musical notation

Narrower terms: major key, major mode, minor key, minor mode, tonic key, home key

History

Etymology

From French tonalité.

Across languages

Translations

20 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Belarusian: тана́льнасць (tanálʹnascʹ) — system of seven tones and tonic key
  • Bulgarian: тона́лност (tonálnost) — system of seven tones and tonic key
  • Catalan: tonalitat — system of seven tones and tonic key
  • Chinese Mandarin: 調性 /调性 (diàoxìng) — system of seven tones and tonic key
  • Danish: tonalitet — system of seven tones and tonic key
  • Finnish: tonaalisuus — system of seven tones and tonic key
  • French: tonalité — system of seven tones and tonic key
  • Japanese: 調性 — system of seven tones and tonic key
  • Kazakh: тоналдық (tonaldyq) — system of seven tones and tonic key
  • Kazakh: үндестілік (ündestılık) — system of seven tones and tonic key
  • Korean: 조성 (joseong) — system of seven tones and tonic key
  • Norwegian Bokmål: tonalitet — system of seven tones and tonic key
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: tonalitet — system of seven tones and tonic key
  • Occitan: tonalitat — system of seven tones and tonic key
  • Polish: tonalność — system of seven tones and tonic key
  • Portuguese: tonalidade — system of seven tones and tonic key
  • Russian: тона́льность (tonálʹnostʹ) — system of seven tones and tonic key
  • Spanish: tonalidad — system of seven tones and tonic key
  • Swedish: tonalitet — system of seven tones and tonic key
  • Ukrainian: тона́льність (tonálʹnistʹ) — system of seven tones and tonic key