tone in

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English[edit]

Verb[edit]

tone in (third-person singular simple present tones in, present participle toning in, simple past and past participle toned in)

  1. To fit well (with something, in colour, mood, etc.).
    Synonyms: go with, harmonize, match
    • 1841, Lord William Lennox, chapter 9, in Compton Audley,‎[1], volume 3, London: Richard Bentley, page 165:
      The stately couch […] ; the high-backed chairs […] ; the fine oak carvings—all gave a solemnity to the place that toned in with Constance’s forlorn spirit […]
    • 1920, Katherine Mansfield, “Bliss”, in Bliss and Other Stories‎[2], Toronto: Macmillan, pages 117–118:
      […] some white grapes covered with a silver bloom and a big cluster of purple ones. These last she had bought to tone in with the new dining-room carpet.
    • 1970, Patrick White, chapter 4, in The Vivisector‎[3], London: Jonathan Cape, page 234:
      She boiled some of the saveloys, and they sat down and ate them after they had picked the skins off. The thick, rubbery skin toned in with the dress Nance was wearing for the country.

Translations[edit]

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