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tonic

noun · adjective

Simple meaning

Related to distinctive manner of oral expression.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

tahnik

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈtɑnɪk

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. A sweet drink containing carbonated water and flavoring

    “In New England they call sodas tonics.”

  2. Lime- or lemon-flavored carbonated water containing quinine

  3. A substance with medicinal properties intended to restore or invigorate.

  4. Tonic water.

  5. figuratively

    Someone or something that revitalises or reinvigorates.

adjective

  1. Pertaining to the accent or stress in a word or in speech.

  2. Restorative; curative; or invigorating.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C1 · Advanced (estimated)
Frequency
Uncommon
Typical Use
Varies by meaning

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A sweet drink containing carbonated water and flavoring

Used this way, tonic is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Heard in a sentence
“In New England they call sodas tonics.”
Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Nearby words

  • tonic water , rarer, so it draws attention

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use tonic

  • “A tonic syllables carries the main stress in a word.”adjective
  • “In New England they call sodas tonics.”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

hair tonictonic keytonic watertonic necktonic effecttonic contractiontonic chordgeneral tonic

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • tonic epilepsynounCompound term

    Epilepsy in which the body is rigid during the seizure.

  • tonic solfanounCompound term

    A system of solmization using the solfa syllables: do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti.

  • tonic waternounCompound term

    Lime- or lemon-flavored carbonated water containing quinine.

  • tonic keynounCompound term

    The basic key in which a piece of music is written.

  • tonic accentnounCompound term

    Emphasis that results from pitch rather than loudness.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Antonyms

Sense: pertaining to the accent or stress in a word

unaccented

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.