intone
4 synonyms for intone, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Verb — To add tone or pitch to a sound, or to say something using the voice.
Synonyms
Everyday swaps
Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.
Less common
Still standard English, but they carry more weight.
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
intonate
cantillate
Etymology
The word developed from Middle English entune, entone, from Old French entoner, from Medieval Latin intonō — formed from in- (an inchoative prefix), tonus (“pitch, tone”) and -ō (a verb-forming suffix). It is a doublet of intonate, and cognate with French entonner and Italian intonare.
Full origin of intone →