atonal
/eɪˈtoʊnəl/adjective
atonal is spelled A-T-O-N-A-L: 6 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 86,301st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, atonal means “Lacking a tonal center or key” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in atonal?
| Letters | 6: A-T-O-N-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 8 million words; the 86,301st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is atonal?
Atonal appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 86,301st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce atonal?
- US /eɪˈtoʊnəl/
- UK /eɪˈtəʊnəl/
Atonal has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-atonal.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with atonal?
4 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as atonal from its last stressed vowel (/oʊnəl/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of atonal
- more atonal comparative
- most atonal superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does atonal mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Lacking a tonal center or key.
- 2
Not tonal, lacking tones.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Atonal in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense lacking a tonal center or key (music):
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does atonal come from?
From a- + tonal.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).