Definition

1. Verb:
   • To speak or recite in a singing voice or with a particular, often solemn, tone: To utter words with a deliberate, controlled modulation of pitch, especially in a ritualistic, religious, or formal context.
   • To utter in a monotone: To speak in a repetitive, rhythmic, and unchanging tone.

Usage and Examples

• Verb:
  • The priest began to intone the ancient prayer. (He recited the prayer with a measured, melodic voice.)
  • The teacher asked the student to intone the vowel sounds clearly. (The student was asked to pronounce the sounds with careful pitch variation.)
  • The protesters intoned their demands for hours. (They repeated their demands rhythmically and monotonously.)

Advanced Usage and Nuances

• Intone often implies a formal, deliberate, or ceremonial manner of speaking, distinct from ordinary conversation. It is closely associated with religious services, chanting, and the recitation of poetry or sacred texts.
• The word can carry a neutral or positive connotation when referring to ritualistic or artistic recitation, but it can also have a slightly negative connotation when describing monotonous, repetitive speech.

Variants and Related Words

• Intonation (n): The rise and fall of the voice in speaking; the act of intoning.
  • Her intonation made the story very engaging.
• Intoned (adj): Spoken in an intoning manner.
  • The intoned verses echoed in the hall.

Synonyms

• Chant: To sing or say in a repetitive, rhythmic way.
• Recite: To repeat aloud from memory, often formally.
• Cantillate: To chant or recite with musical tones (especially in Jewish liturgy).

Phrasal Verbs / Common Collocations

• Intone a prayer/psalm/mantra: To recite a religious or spiritual text with a solemn, modulated voice.
  • The monks intone their mantras at dawn.
• Intone solemnly/gravely/monotonously: Adverbs frequently used to describe the manner of intoning.
  • The judge intoned the verdict gravely.

Related Idioms or Fixed Expressions

• While there are no common idioms using "intone" itself, the concept is central to phrases like:
  • In a chanting/intoning voice: Describing a manner of speech.

    • The leader spoke in a chanting voice, captivating the audience.

Verb

1. speak carefully, as with rising and falling pitch or in a particular tone
   • please intonate with sadness
2. recite with musical intonation; recite as a chant or a psalm
   • The rabbi chanted a prayer
3. utter monotonously and repetitively and rhythmically
   • The students chanted the same slogan over and over again