155 Words To Describe An Author’s Tone

@Amanda Peterson
Source: https://writerswrite.co.za/155-words-to-describe-an-authors-tone/

What is tone?

Tone refers to an author’s use of words and writing style to convey his or her attitude
towards a topic. Tone is often defined as what the author feels about the subject. What the
reader feels is known as the mood.

Tip: Don’t confuse tone with voice. [Read How Do You Find Your Writing Voice?] Voice can
be explained as the author’s personality expressed in writing. Tone = Attitude. Voice =
Personality.
Tone (attitude) and voice (personality) create a writing style. You may not be able to alter
your personality but you can adjust your attitude. This gives you ways to create writing
that affects your audience’s mood. (Click here for examples of tone in a story.)

The mechanics of tone

Tone is conveyed through diction (choice and use of words and phrases), viewpoint, syntax
(grammar; how you put words and phrases together), and level of formality. It is the way
you express yourself in speech or writing.

How do you find the correct tone?

You can usually find a tone by asking these three questions:

1. Why am I writing this?

2. Who is my intended audience?
3. What do I want the reader to learn, understand, or think about?
In formal writing, your tone should be clear, concise, confident, and courteous. The
writing level should be sophisticated, but not pretentious.
In creative writing, your tone is more subjective, but you should always aim to
communicate clearly. Genre sometimes determines the tone.
 Tone Meaning
Absurd illogical; ridiculous; silly; implausible; foolish
Accusatory suggesting someone has done something wrong, complaining
Acerbic sharp; forthright; biting; hurtful; abrasive; severe
Admiring approving; think highly of; respectful; praising
Aggressive hostile; determined; forceful; argumentative
Aggrieved indignant; annoyed; offended; disgruntled
Ambivalent having mixed feelings; uncertain; in a dilemma; undecided
Amused entertained; diverted; pleased
Angry incensed or enraged; threatening or menacing
Animated full of life or excitement; lively; spirited; impassioned; vibrant
Apathetic showing little interest; lacking concern; indifferent; unemotional
Apologetic full of regret; repentant; remorseful; acknowledging failure
Appreciative grateful; thankful; showing pleasure; enthusiastic
Ardent enthusiastic; passionate
Arrogant pompous; disdainful; overbearing; condescending; vain; scoffing
Assertive self-confident; strong-willed; authoritative; insistent
Awestruck amazed, filled with wonder/awe; reverential
Belligerent hostile; aggressive; combatant
Benevolent sympathetic; tolerant; generous; caring; well meaning
Bitter angry; acrimonious; antagonistic; spiteful; nasty
Callous cruel disregard; unfeeling; uncaring; indifferent; ruthless
Candid truthful, straightforward; honest; unreserved
Caustic making biting, corrosive comments; critical
Cautionary gives warning; raises awareness; reminding
Celebratory praising; pay tribute to; glorify; honour
Chatty informal; lively; conversational; familiar
Colloquial familiar; everyday language; informal; colloquial; casual
Comic humorous; witty; entertaining; diverting
Compassionate sympathetic; empathetic; warm-hearted; tolerant; kind
Complex having many varying characteristics; complicated
Compliant agree or obey rules; acquiescent; flexible; submissive
Concerned worried; anxious; apprehensive
Conciliatory intended to placate or pacify; appeasing
Condescending stooping to the level of one’s inferiors; patronising
Confused unable to think clearly; bewildered; vague
Contemptuous showing contempt; scornful; insolent; mocking
Critical finding fault; disapproving; scathing; criticizing
Cruel causing pain and suffering; unkind; spiteful; severe
Curious wanting to find out more; inquisitive; questioning
Cynical scornful of motives/virtues of others; mocking; sneering
Defensive defending a position; shielding; guarding; watchful
Defiant obstinate; argumentative; defiant; contentious
Demeaning disrespectful; undignified
Depressing sad, melancholic; discouraging; pessimistic
Derisive snide; sarcastic; mocking; dismissive; scornful
Detached aloof; objective; unfeeling; distant
Dignified serious; respectful; formal; proper
Diplomatic tactful; subtle; sensitive; thoughtful
Disapproving displeased; critical; condemnatory
Disheartening discouraging; demoralising; undermining; depressing
Disparaging dismissive; critical; scornful
Direct straightforward; honest
Disappointed discouraged; unhappy because something has gone wrong
Dispassionate impartial; indifferent; unsentimental; cold; unsympathetic
Distressing heart-breaking; sad; troubling
Docile compliant; submissive; deferential; accommodating
Earnest showing deep sincerity or feeling; serious
Egotistical self-absorbed; selfish; conceited; boastful
Empathetic understanding; kind; sensitive
Encouraging optimistic; supportive
Enthusiastic excited; energetic
Evasive ambiguous; cryptic; unclear
Excited emotionally aroused; stirred
Facetious inappropriate; flippant
Farcical ludicrous; absurd; mocking; humorous and highly improbable
Flippant superficial; glib; shallow; thoughtless; frivolous
Forceful powerful; energetic; confident; assertive
Formal respectful; stilted; factual; following accepted styles/rules
Frank honest; direct; plain; matter-of-fact
Frustrated annoyed; discouraged
Gentle kind; considerate; mild; soft
Ghoulish delighting in the revolting or the loathsome
Grim serious; gloomy; depressing; lacking humour;macabre
Gullible naïve; innocent; ignorant
Hard unfeeling; hard-hearted; unyielding
Humble deferential; modest
Humorous amusing; entertaining; playful
Hypercritical unreasonably critical; hair splitting; nitpicking
Impartial unbiased; neutral; objective
Impassioned filled with emotion; ardent
Imploring pleading; begging
Impressionable trusting; child-like
Inane silly; foolish; stupid; nonsensical
Incensed enraged
Incredulous disbelieving; unconvinced; questioning; suspicious
Indignant annoyed; angry; dissatisfied
Informative instructive; factual; educational
Inspirational encouraging; reassuring
Intense earnest; passionate; concentrated; deeply felt
Intimate familiar; informal; confidential; confessional
Ironic the opposite of what is meant
Irreverent lacking respect for things that are generally taken seriously
Jaded bored; having had too much of the same thing; lack enthusiasm
Joyful positive; optimistic; cheerful; elated
Judgmental critical; finding fault; disparaging
Laudatory praising; recommending
Light-Hearted carefree; relaxed; chatty; humorous
Loving affectionate; showing intense, deep concern
Macabre gruesome; horrifying; frightening
Malicious desiring to harm others or to see others suffer; ill-willed; spiteful
Mean-Spirited inconsiderate; unsympathetic
Mocking scornful; ridiculing; making fun of someone
Mourning grieving; lamenting; woeful
Naïve innocent; unsophisticated; immature
Narcissistic self-admiring; selfish; boastful; self-pitying
Nasty unpleasant; unkind; disagreeable; abusive
Negative unhappy, pessimistic
Nostalgic thinking about the past; wishing for something from the past
Objective without prejudice; without discrimination; fair; based on fact
Obsequious overly obedient and/or submissive; fawning; grovelling
Optimistic hopeful; cheerful
Outraged angered and resentful; furious; extremely angered
Outspoken frank; candid; spoken without reserve
Pathetic expressing pity, sympathy, tenderness
Patronising condescending; scornful; pompous
Pensive reflective; introspective; philosophical; contemplative
Persuasive convincing; eloquent; influential; plausible
Pessimistic seeing the negative side of things
Philosophical theoretical; analytical; rational; logical
Playful full of fun and good spirits; humorous; jesting
Pragmatic realistic; sensible
Pretentious affected; artificial; grandiose; rhetorical; flashy
Regretful apologetic; remorseful
Resentful aggrieved; offended; displeased; bitter
Resigned accepting; unhappy
Restrained controlled; quiet; unemotional
Reverent showing deep respect and esteem
Righteous morally right and just; guiltless; pious; god-fearing
Satirical making fun to show a weakness; ridiculing; derisive
Sarcastic scornful; mocking; ridiculing
Scathing critical; stinging; unsparing; harsh
Scornful expressing contempt or derision; scathing; dismissive
Sensationalistic provocative; inaccurate; distasteful
Sentimental thinking about feelings, especially when remembering the past
Sincere honest; truthful; earnest
Sceptical disbelieving; unconvinced; doubting
Solemn not funny; in earnest; serious
Subjective prejudiced; biased
Submissive compliant; passive; accommodating; obedient
Sulking bad-tempered; grumpy; resentful; sullen
Sympathetic compassionate; understanding of how someone feels
Thoughtful reflective; serious; absorbed
Tolerant open-minded; charitable; patient; sympathetic; lenient
Tragic disastrous; calamitous
Unassuming modest; self-effacing; restrained
Uneasy worried; uncomfortable; edgy; nervous
Urgent insistent; saying something must be done soon
Vindictive vengeful; spiteful; bitter; unforgiving
Virtuous lawful; righteous; moral; upstanding
Whimsical quaint; playful; mischievous; offbeat
Witty clever; quick-witted; entertaining
Wonder awe-struck; admiring; fascinating
World-Weary bored; cynical; tired
Worried anxious; stressed; fearful
Wretched miserable; despairing; sorrowful; distressed

Helpful Tip: Finding the correct tone is a matter of practice. Try to write for different
audiences. Even if you only want to write novels, it is an apprenticeship of sorts. Write
press releases. Write opinion pieces. Write interviews. Write copy. Write a business plan.
Examples of Tone in a Story
7th grade8th grade9th gradeMiddle SchoolHigh SchoolCollege

image: http://www.yourdictionary.com/image/articles/18955.ThinkstockPhotos-

The tone in a story can be joyful, serious, humorous, sad, threatening, formal,
informal, pessimistic, and optimistic. Your tone in writing will be reflective of your mood as you
are writing.

Tone in Writing
Tone in writing is not really any different than the tone of your voice. You know that sometimes
it is not “what” you say, but “how” you say it.
It is the same with writing. Every adjective and adverb you use, your sentence structure, and
the imagery you use will show your tone. The definition of “tone” is the way the author
expresses his attitude through his writing.
The tone can change very quickly, or may remain the same throughout the story. Tone is
expressed by your use of syntax, your point of view, your diction, and the level of formality in
your writing.
Examples of tone in a story include just about any adjective you can imagine:
 Scared
 Anxious
 Excited
 Worried
 Foolish
 Smart
 Depressing

Conveying Tone in a Story

Tone in writing is conveyed by both the choices of words and the narrator of the story.
Consider the tone of The School by Donald Barthelme. Here, words like "death" and
"depressing" set a negative or unhappy tone:
And the trees all died. They were orange trees. I don’t know why they died, they just died.
Something wrong with the soil possibly or maybe the stuff we got from the nursery wasn’t the
best. We complained about it. So we’ve got thirty kids there, each kid had his or her own little
tree to plant and we’ve got these thirty dead trees. All these kids looking at these little brown
sticks, it was depressing.

In contrast, in Charlotte's Web, although the book is sad, the tone is one of peace and
acceptance:
But I feel peaceful. Your success in the ring this morning was, to a small degree, my success.
Your future is assured. You will live, secure and safe, Wilbur. Nothing can harm you now. These
autumn days will shorten and grow cold. The leaves will shake loose from the trees and fall.
Christmas will come, and the snows of winter. You will live to enjoy the beauty of the frozen
world, for you mean a great deal to Zuckerman and he will not harm you, ever. Winter will pass,
the days will lengthen, the ice will melt in the pasture pond. The song sparrow will return and
sing, the frogs will awake, the warm wind will blow again. All these sights and sounds and
smells will be yours to enjoy, Wilbur—this lovely world, these precious days…”

In A River Runs Through It, loss is also addressed with a kind of acceptance. The tone here is a
bit wistful, yet peaceful and moving towards acceptance nonetheless.
This was the last fish we were ever to see Paul catch. My father and I talked about this moment
several times later, and whatever our other feelings, we always felt it fitting that, when we saw
him catch his last fish, we never saw the fish but only the artistry of the fisherman.

Choosing Words for Tone

In the following excerpt from Edgar Allen Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart, notice the insane, nervous,
and guilty tones.
It was A LOW, DULL, QUICK SOUND -- MUCH SUCH A SOUND AS A WATCH MAKES
WHEN ENVELOPED IN COTTON. I gasped for breath, and yet the officers heard it not. I talked
more quickly, more vehemently but the noise steadily increased. I arose and argued about
trifles, in a high key and with violent gesticulations; but the noise steadily increased. Why
WOULD they not be gone? I paced the floor to and fro with heavy strides, as if excited to fury by
the observations of the men, but the noise steadily increased. O God! What COULD I do? I
foamed -- I raved -- I swore! I swung the chair upon which I had been sitting, and grated it upon
the boards, but the noise arose over all and continually increased. It grew louder -- louder --
louder!

In Hemingway’s A Clean, Well-Lighted Place the tone is calm and peaceful.

It was very late and everyone had left the cafe except an old man who sat in the shadow the
leaves of the tree made against the electric light. In the day time the street was dusty, but at
night the dew settled the dust and the old man liked to sit late because he was deaf and now at
night it was quiet and he felt the difference.

Finally, in A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, the tone could be said to be mysterious,
secretive, ominous, or evil.
There was a steaming mist in all the hollows, and it had roamed in its forlornness up the hill, like
an evil spirit, seeking rest and finding none. A clammy and intensely cold mist, it made its slow
way through the air in ripples that visibly followed and overspread one another, as the waves of
an unwholesome sea might do. It was dense enough to shut out everything from the light of the
coach-lamps but these its own workings, and a few yards of road; and the reek of the labouring
horses steamed into it, as if they had made it all.

Formal and Casual Tones

An example of a casual tone is:
The way I look at it, someone needs to start doing something about disease. What’s the big
deal? People are dying. But the average person doesn’t think twice about it until it affects them.
Or someone they know.

A formal tone is shown in this example:

There was a delay in the start of the project, attributable to circumstances beyond the control of
all relevant parties. Progress came to a standstill, and no one was prepared to undertake the
assessment of the problem and determination of the solution.

There are as many examples of tone in a story as there are stars in the sky. Any adjective you
can think of can be the tone in a story.

Read more at http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-tone-in-a-

story.html#JOQVWCpEFqXzHHrj.99