what is tone?

tone:-n. is sound with reference to its quality, pitch, duration, feeling, etc.:-eg:-the sweet tone of a violin;eg:-speak in an angry tone;eg:-the general spirit, character, morale, of a community,etc.The tone of the country is light-hearted (adj).The speaker gave a serious tone to the subject. Then there was a tone of quiet elegance in the hall.eg:-The shade of colour; degree of light in the furnishings etc. gave this impression:-eg:-A carpet in tones of brown; The furnishing gave this warm impression.A picture in warm tones, in shades, suggesting warmth.Having a particular kind of tone is found in the silver toned trumpets with colour, and sprit.

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（常指對聽話人的）語氣，腔調，口吻
I tried to use a sympathetic tone of voice.
我試著用一種同情的語氣說話。
Don't speak to me in that tone of voice (= angrily), young lady!
小姐，別用那種語氣跟我說話！
It wasn't so much what she said that annoyed me - it was her tone.
令我生氣的不是她所說的話，而是她說話的語氣。
tones [ plural ] literary
the quality of someone's voice
語氣；語調
She recounted the story to me in shocked tones (= in a shocked voice).
她用震驚的語氣向我敘述這個故事。
For more than half a century, the reassuring tones of BBC newscasters have informed British television viewers about world events.
半個多世紀以來，英國廣播公司的播音員用沉穩的語調向英國電視觀眾報道世界大事。