antitonic
|an-ti-ton-ic|
🇺🇸
/ˌæn.tɪˈtɑːn.ɪk/
🇬🇧
/ˌæn.tɪˈtɒn.ɪk/
against the tonic / opposed to tone
Etymology
'antitonic' is formed from the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'anti', meaning 'against') + the adjective 'tonic' (from Greek 'tonos', meaning 'tone' or 'tension').
'anti-' (Greek) + 'tonic' (from Greek 'tonos' via Latin/Old French 'tonicus'/'tonique') combined in Modern English to form 'antitonic'; the element 'tonic' entered English via Latin/French and 'anti-' is a common Greek-derived prefix attached in Late/Modern English formations.
Initially the components meant 'against' and 'tone/tension', and the combined term has retained that basic sense of being 'against' or 'opposed to' a tonic (tone or tension) in technical usages.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
counteracting or opposed to a tonic state; reducing or opposing sustained muscular tone or tonic activity (used in medical/pharmacological contexts).
The drug exhibited antitonic effects, lowering baseline muscle tone in the treated patients.
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Adjective 2
relating to or characterized by a pitch contour or function that is contrary to the tonic (used in musicology and phonology to describe pitch relations or prosodic patterns).
In some analyses the phrase was described as antitonic, since its final pitch moved away from the sentence tonic.
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Last updated: 2025/09/11 15:47