tone in en · VERB
Meanings
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To fit well (with something, in colour, mood, etc.).
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 […]
1841, Lord William Lennox, chapter 9, in Compton Audley,, volume 3, London: Richard Bentley, page 165:[…] 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.
1920, Katherine Mansfield, “Bliss”, in Bliss and Other Stories, Toronto: Macmillan, pages 117–118: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.
1970, Patrick White, chapter 4, in The Vivisector, London: Jonathan Cape, page 234:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| toned in | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| toned in | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| toning in | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| tones in | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic |
Synonyms
Translations (6)
da harmonisere (fit well with) · mg mampirindra (fit well with) · ru гармони́ровать (fit well with) · bg хармонирам (fit well with) · fi harmonisoida (fit well with) · fi saattaa sopusointuun (fit well with)