deep, low
hushed, quiet, subdued
Why is everyone speaking in hushed tones?

breathy, gravelly, husky
clear, ringing
sharp, shrill, stentorian, strident
dry, even, flat, level, measured, neutral
The question was posed in a flat tone.

normal, reasonable
brisk, businesslike, matter-of-fact
She answered him in a brisk, matter-of-fact tone.

commanding, defiant, firm
formal
serious, solemn
dramatic, urgent
casual
bright, conversational
calm, friendly, gentle, mild, pleasant, soft, soothing, sympathetic, warm
Her tone was mild, almost conversational.

sweet
the sweet tone of the flute

dulcet, honeyed, mellifluous (formal)
the dulcet tones of the sergeant

clipped, cold, cool, curt, hard, harsh, icy
In cool, clipped tones, he told her what had happened.

aggressive, biting, bitter, condescending, contemptuous, disapproving, dismissive, ironic, mocking, patronizing, playful, sarcastic, sardonic, scathing, teasing
His tone was faintly mocking.

threatening
angry, annoyed, exasperated
aggrieved, shocked, worried
bantering, conciliatory, conspiratorial, reverential

adopt, speak in, strike, take, use
When she heard my accent, she adopted a warmer tone.
The President struck a defiant tone.
Don't you take that tone with me.

soften
change
hear, notice
interpret
Her tone was hard to interpret.

not like
Excuse me, I don't like your tone.

change
His tone changed dramatically when he saw the money.

soften
convey sth, imply sth, indicate sth, suggest sth
sound sth
Her tone sounded sincere but I knew she was lying.

betray sb/sth, give away sb/sth
Her tone betrayed her impatience.

in a/the tone
‘You ought to have thought of them,’ she said in a reproachful tone.

in tones of
‘I don't believe it!’ cried Henry in tones of utter amazement.

a tone of voice
I didn't like his tone of voice; I felt he was being condescending.

dominant, general, overall, prevailing
The general tone of the report was positive.

moral, political
The newspaper sets a high moral tone in its editorial about politicians' private lives.

negative
comic, humorous
serious

establish, set
Her enthusiastic speech set the tone for the day's conference.

have
The movie has a jokey tone throughout.

maintain
lighten
He uses humour/humor to lighten the tone of the novel.

match
The music perfectly matches the tone of the movie.

in tone
His letter was very negative in tone.

a change in tone, a change of tone
There is a marked change of tone in the second half of the book.

light, muted, neutral, pale, pastel, soft
muted tones of brown and green

dark, deep
rich, warm
earthy, flesh, grey/gray, natural
colour/color
skin
What is your natural skin tone?

match
You should use a foundation that matches your skin tone.

dial (AmE), dialling (BrE)
engaged (BrE) (busy signal in AmE)
ring (usually ringtone)

get
I keep getting the engaged tone.

sound
The dial tone sounded.