ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Intonate

Definition, Meaning & Examples

Pronunciation /ˈɪntəʊneɪt/ · Part of speech verb

Quick meaning: Intonate is a verb meaning (transitive, intransitive, dated) To intone or recite (words), especially emphatically or in a chanting manner.

Meaning

(transitive, intransitive, dated) To intone or recite (words), especially emphatically or in a chanting manner.

More Meanings

  1. (transitive, dated) To say or speak with a certain intonation.
  2. (transitive, dated) To intone or vocalize (musical notes); to sound the tones of the musical scale; to practise the sol-fa.
  3. (obsolete) To thunder or to utter in a sonorous or thunderous voice.

Example Sentences

With actorlike polish he intonated through the third page […]
[…] another child of foreign parentage intonates his English with the cadence peculiar to the language of his parents.
His manner on the platform and his speech were those of a drony, sing-song, intonating Episcopal minister, devoid of life and spirit.
“Is this Mr. O’Connor’s chamber?” inquired a voice of peculiar richness, intonated not unpleasingly with a certain melodious modification of the brogue […]

Word Forms

Synonyms for intonate

Depending on context, synonyms include chant, cantillate, intone.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include intone, cantillate, chant, intune, entune, rechant.

Related Dictionary Tools

Sources & Attribution

FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.