English adjective: tonal | |||
1. | tonal employing variations in pitch to distinguish meanings of otherwise similar words | ||
Samples | Chinese is a tonal language. | ||
Synonyms | tonic | ||
2. | tonal having tonality; i.e. tones and chords organized in relation to one tone such as a keynote or tonic | ||
Similar | diatonic, keyed, polytonal, toned, tonic | ||
Domain category | music | ||
Antonyms | atonal, unkeyed | ||