overtone

UK: /ˈəʊvəˌtəʊn/ US: /ˈoʊvɚˌtoʊn/ ,(ō′vər tōn′)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

o•ver•tone /ˈoʊvɚˌtoʊn/   n. [countable]

1. an additional meaning or quality, as in someone's speech or behavior, that is not openly expressed but can be understood or felt by others.

See -ton-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

o•ver•tone  (ō′vər tōn′), n. 

1. Music and Dance an acoustical frequency that is higher in frequency than the fundamental.
2. an additional, usually subsidiary and implicit meaning or quality:
   an aesthetic theory with definite political overtones.

• translation of German Oberton. See over-, tone 1865–70

Synonyms

• 2. insinuation, suggestion, intimation, hint.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

overtone / ˈəʊvəˌtəʊn/ noun

1. (often plural) additional meaning or nuance: overtones of despair
2. any of the tones, with the exception of the fundamental, that constitute a musical sound and contribute to its quality, each having a frequency that is a multiple of the fundamental frequency
   See also harmonic7, partial6