What is a list of tone words?

Answer 1

When talking about the tone of a piece, the word you pick is extremely important. There is a huge difference between the words happy and jovial. The words sad and gloomy create a completely different feeling. Sarcastic is fine, but what about caustic?

These are some words that I often use to describe tone:

1. Accusatory -- charging of wrong doing

2. Apathetic -- indifferent due to lack of energy or concern

3. Awe -- solemn wonder

4. Bitter -- exhibiting strong animosity as a result of pain or grief

5. Cynical -- questions the basic sincerity and goodness of people

6. Condescending -- a feeling of superiority

7. Callous -- unfeeling, insensitive to feelings of others

8. Contemplative -- studying, thinking, reflecting on an issue

9. Critical -- finding fault

10. Choleric -- hot-tempered, easily angered

11. Contemptuous -- showing or feeling that something is worthless or lacks respect

12. Caustic -- intense use of sarcasm; stinging, biting

13. Conventional -- lacking spontaneity, originality, and individuality

14. Disdainful -- scornful

15. Didactic -- author attempts to educate or instruct the reader

16. Derisive -- ridiculing, mocking

17. Earnest -- intense, a sincere state of mind

18. Erudite -- learned, polished, scholarly

19. Fanciful -- using the imagination

20. Forthright -- directly frank without hesitation

21. Gloomy -- darkness, sadness, rejection

22. Haughty -- proud and vain to the point of arrogance

23. Indignant -- marked by anger aroused by injustice

24. Intimate -- very familiar

25. Judgmental -- authoritative and often having critical opinions

26. Jovial -- happy

27. Lyrical -- expressing a poet's inner feelings; emotional; full of images; song-like

28. Matter-of-fact -- accepting of conditions; not fanciful or emotional

29. Mocking -- treating with contempt or ridicule

30. Morose -- gloomy, sullen, surly, despondent

31. Malicious -- purposely hurtful

32. Objective -- an unbiased view-able to leave personal judgments aside

33. Optimistic -- hopeful, cheerful

34. Obsequious -- polite and obedient in order to gain something

35. Patronizing -- air of condescension

36. Pessimistic -- seeing the worst side of things; no hope

37. Quizzical -- odd, eccentric, amusing

38. Ribald -- offensive in speech or gesture

39. Reverent -- treating a subject with honor and respect

40. Ridiculing -- slightly contemptuous banter; making fun of

41. Reflective -- illustrating innermost thoughts and emotions

42. Sarcastic -- sneering, caustic

43. Sardonic -- scornfully and bitterly sarcastic

44. Satiric -- ridiculing to show weakness in order to make a point, teach

45. Sincere -- without deceit or pretense; genuine

46. Solemn -- deeply earnest, tending toward sad reflection

47. Sanguine -- optimistic, cheerful

48. Whimsical -- odd, strange, fantastic

Answer 2

Some examples of tone words include: cheerful, somber, sarcastic, formal, playful, serious, inspiring, mocking, respectful, and neutral.