Link Centre Dictionary

tonic

to·nic

UK/ˈtɒnɪk/ US/ˈtɑ.nɪk/ fairly common us
adjective (5) noun (4)

adjective

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”
Synonyms
3.

used of syllables

  • “a tonic syllables carries the main stress in a word”
Synonyms
Antonyms
4.

relating to or being the keynote of a major or minor scale

  • “tonic harmony”
Similar
5.

noun

1.

lime- or lemon-flavored carbonated water containing quinine

Synonyms
2.

a sweet drink containing carbonated water and flavoring

  • “in New England they call sodas tonics”
Synonyms
3.

(music) the first note of a diatonic scale

Synonyms
4.

a medicine that strengthens and invigorates

Synonyms

Origin

From Ancient Greek τονικός (tonikós), from τόνος (tónos).

Phrases

  • Adie's tonic pupil
  • gin and tonic
  • hair tonic
  • love tonic
  • tonal center
  • tonic accent
  • tonic and gin
  • tonic immobility
  • tonic tensor tympani syndrome
  • vodka tonic

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

Pertaining to

Parts

Part of

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.