as in tuneless
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Recent Examples of atonal
Riley, a Northern California native, who has always exuded a Zen-like geniality, was part of a generation of young American composers who had turned away from audience-alienating atonal music, which had been proselytized by their teachers in the science-minded postwar academy.
—
William Robin, New Yorker, 26 Aug. 2025
In fact, the entire film can't decide whether to embrace the silly or the serious — and yet somehow, that atonal balance works.
—Devan Coggan, EW.com, 3 Aug. 2025
In this new narrative, the history of atonal music’s liberation from the constraints of conventional Western music begins not in Europe but in Mexico.
—Julie Walsh, Artforum, 6 Dec. 2024
The songs’ shimmering melodies keep threatening to dissolve into the atonal, musically replicating the sense that oblivion lurks behind these walls decorated with Renoirs and Manets salvaged from civilization.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 13 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for atonal
William Robin, New Yorker, 26 Aug. 2025
In fact, the entire film can't decide whether to embrace the silly or the serious — and yet somehow, that atonal balance works.
—Devan Coggan, EW.com, 3 Aug. 2025
In this new narrative, the history of atonal music’s liberation from the constraints of conventional Western music begins not in Europe but in Mexico.
—Julie Walsh, Artforum, 6 Dec. 2024
The songs’ shimmering melodies keep threatening to dissolve into the atonal, musically replicating the sense that oblivion lurks behind these walls decorated with Renoirs and Manets salvaged from civilization.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 13 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for atonal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for atonal
Adjective
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Her aesthetics and tuneless vocals left audiences in awe and laughter.—
Raquel Willis,
Time,
19 June 2025
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For the rest of us, a real musical comedy is a cause for celebration; most are either too tuneless to be musicals or too dull to be comedies.—
Jesse Green,
New York Times,
11 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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That said, whole-virus vaccines can cause more unpleasant side effects, and in rare cases, weakened live pathogens can redevelop infectious capability.—
Meghan Bartels,
Scientific American,
27 Mar. 2026
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Like, what would make this already unpleasant environment even spicier?—
Mikey O'Connell,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Another bill would put regulations around data centers, although lawmakers in the final days stripped out some of the language that tech companies found disagreeable.—
Garrett Shanley,
Miami Herald,
13 Mar. 2026
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The day was cold and disagreeable, disappointing those who hoped for warm, sunny weather for the contest between Bogardus and Carver.—
AJ Willingham,
AJC.com,
24 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Warming up, Smith throws back his head and belts Bieber lyrics, joyfully off-key.—
Sam Kestenbaum,
Vulture,
2 Jan. 2026
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Gran’s butter yellow Cadillac was a welcome surprise in the school carpool line, her slightly off-key singing voice kept me entertained in the church pews on Sunday morning, and her dining room table was the joyful location of many family celebrations.—
Brennan Long,
Southern Living,
29 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The other form, metallic palladium (Pd⁰), takes over afterward, hydrogenating the resulting fragments into stable compounds like cyclohexanol and cyclohexane.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
29 Mar. 2026
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Something else that supports the hypothesis that recent meteors have been larger than usual is the prevalence of sonic booms — loud, explosive sounds caused by shockwaves when meteoroids, small rocky or metallic bodies from space, penetrate deeper into the Earth's atmosphere than usual.—
Jamie Carter,
Space.com,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The sonorous presence of actor Morgan Freeman will be one of the highlights of the Beatles on the Beach festival in Boca Raton on March 12-15, which will include a March 14 performance by Morgan Freeman’s Symphonic Blues Experience.—
Ben Crandell,
Sun Sentinel,
7 Mar. 2026
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Authoritative, sonorous and compelling, his is the voice that persuaded millions that the Martians had landed in Grover’s Mills, New Jersey in The War of the Worlds.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Atonal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/atonal. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.
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