Adjacent Words

tonic definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: of or relating to or producing normal tone or tonus in muscles or tissue; "a tonic reflex"; "tonic muscle contraction"
2: employing variations in pitch to distinguish meanings of otherwise similar words; "Chinese is a tonal language" [syn: tonic, tonal]
3: used of syllables; "a tonic syllables carries the main stress in a word" [syn: tonic, accented] [ant: atonic, unaccented]
4: relating to or being the keynote of a major or minor scale; "tonic harmony"
5: imparting vitality and energy; "the bracing mountain air" [syn: bracing, brisk, fresh, refreshing, refreshful, tonic] n
1: lime- or lemon-flavored carbonated water containing quinine [syn: tonic, tonic water, quinine water]
2: a sweet drink containing carbonated water and flavoring; "in New England they call sodas tonics" [syn: pop, soda, soda pop, soda water, tonic]
3: (music) the first note of a diatonic scale [syn: tonic, keynote]
4: a medicine that strengthens and invigorates [syn: tonic, restorative]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Greek tonikos, from tonos tension, tone Date: 1649 1. a. characterized by tonus <tonic contraction of muscle>; also marked by prolonged muscular contraction <tonic convulsions> b. producing or adapted to produce healthy muscular condition and reaction of organs (as muscles) 2. a. increasing or restoring physical or mental tone ; refreshing b. yielding a tonic substance 3. relating to or based on the first tone of a scale <tonic harmony> 4. of a syllable bearing a principal stress or accent 5. of or relating to speech tones or to languages using them to distinguish words otherwise identical • tonically adverb II. noun Date: 1797 1. the first tone of a major or minor scale ; keynote 2. a. an agent (as a drug) that increases body tone b. one that invigorates, restores, refreshes, or stimulates <a day in the country was a tonic for him> c. a liquid preparation for the scalp or hair d. chiefly New England a carbonated flavored beverage e. tonic water 3. a voiced sound

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & adj. --n. 1 an invigorating medicine. 2 anything serving to invigorate. 3 = tonic water. 4 Mus. the first degree of a scale, forming the keynote of a piece (see KEYNOTE 3). --adj. 1 serving as a tonic; invigorating. 2 Mus. denoting the first degree of a scale. 3 a producing tension, esp. of the muscles. b restoring normal tone to organs. Phrases and idioms: tonic accent an accent marked by a change of pitch within a syllable. tonic sol-fa Mus. a system of notation used esp. in teaching singing, with doh as the keynote of all major keys and lah as the keynote of all minor keys. tonic spasm continuous muscular contraction (cf. CLONUS). tonic water a carbonated mineral water containing quinine. Derivatives: tonically adv. Etymology: F tonique f. Gk tonikos (as TONE)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Tonic Ton"ic, a. (Med.) Characterized by continuous muscular contraction; as, tonic convulsions.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Tonic Ton"ic, n. [Cf. F. tonique, NL. tonicum.] 1. (Phon.) A tonic element or letter; a vowel or a diphthong. 2. (Mus.) The key tone, or first tone of any scale. 3. (Med.) A medicine that increases the strength, and gives vigor of action to the system. Tonic sol-fa (Mus.), the name of the most popular among letter systems of notation (at least in England), based on key relationship, and hence called ``tonic.'' Instead of the five lines, clefs, signature, etc., of the usual notation, it employs letters and the syllables do, re, mi, etc., variously modified, with other simple signs of duration, of upper or lower octave, etc. See Sol-fa.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Tonic Ton"ic, a. [Cf. F. tonigue, Gr. ?. See Tone.] 1. Of or relating to tones or sounds; specifically (Phon.), applied to, or distingshing, a speech sound made with tone unmixed and undimmed by obstruction, such sounds, namely, the vowels and diphthongs, being so called by Dr. James Rush (1833) `` from their forming the purest and most plastic material of intonation.'' 2. Of or pertaining to tension; increasing tension; hence, increasing strength; as, tonic power. 3. (Med.) Increasing strength, or the tone of the animal system; obviating the effects of debility, and restoring healthy functions. Tonic spasm. (Med.) See the Note under Spasm.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(tonics) 1. Tonic or tonic water is a colourless fizzy drink that has a slightly bitter flavour and is often mixed with alcoholic drinks, especially gin. Keeler sipped at his gin and tonic. ...low-calorie tonics. N-MASS 2. A tonic is a medicine that makes you feel stronger, healthier, and less tired. Britons are spending twice as much on health tonics as they were five years ago... N-MASS 3. A tonic is anything that makes you feel stronger, more cheerful, or more enthusiastic. Seeing Marcus at that moment was a great tonic... = boost N-COUNT: oft adj N, N for n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Strengthening medicine. 2. (Mus.) Key, key-note, first note of the scale, fundamental note.

Moby Thesaurus

accented, activating, activator, alcoholic drink, alveolar, analeptic, animating, animative, animator, apical, apico-alveolar, apico-dental, arouser, articulated, assimilated, astringent, back, barytone, beneficial, benign, beverage, bilabial, boost, bracer, bracing, brisk, broad, cacuminal, central, cerebral, checked, cheering, chromatic, close, consonant, consonantal, constitutional, continuant, cordial, corroborant, crisp, crispy, dental, dissimilated, dominant, dorsal, drink, drinkable, energizer, energizing, enharmonic, enlivening, enlivenment, exhilarating, exhilaration, exhilarative, flat, fortifying, fresh, front, frosted, frosted shake, glide, glossal, glottal, good, good for, guttural, hard, health-enhancing, health-preserving, healthful, healthy, heavy, high, human dynamo, hygeian, hygienic, intonated, invigorating, invigoration, invigorative, key, key signature, keynote, labial, labiodental, labiovelar, lateral, lax, life, light, lingual, liquid, liquor, low, major, major key, malt, mediant, mid, minor, monophthongal, motivating force, motive power, muted, narrow, nasal, nasalized, occlusive, open, oxytone, palatal, palatalized, pedal point, pharyngeal, pharyngealized, phonemic, phonetic, phonic, pick-me-up, pitch, pitched, pop, posttonic, potable, potation, quickening, reanimation, recreation, refection, refresher, refreshful, refreshing, refreshment, regale, regalement, regaling, reinvigoration, renewal, restorative, retroflex, revival, revivescence, revivescency, revivification, reviving, roborant, rounded, rousing, salubrious, salutary, sanitary, semitonic, semivowel, shake, sharp, soda, soda pop, soda water, soft, soft drink, sonant, spark plug, stimulant, stimulating, stimulation, stimulative, stimulator, stimulus, stopped, strengthening, stressed, strong, subdominant, submediant, subtonic, supertonic, surd, syllabic, tense, thick, throaty, tisane, tonal, tonality, tonic key, tonicity, tonus, twangy, unaccented, unrounded, unstressed, velar, viable, vitalizing, vitamin shot, vivification, vocalic, vocoid, voiced, voiceless, vowel, vowellike, weak, wholesome, wide, zestful, zesty