Definition of "tenor" []

• A continuous, unwavering course. See Synonyms at tendency. (noun)
• The word, phrase, or subject with which the vehicle of a metaphor is identified, as life in "Life's but a walking shadow” ( Shakespeare). (noun)
• The course of thought or argument running through something written or spoken. (noun)
• General sense; purport. (noun)
• Law The exact meaning or actual wording of a document as distinct from its effect. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Occasionally, perhaps four or five times in the year, the Reverend Edward Pewlay, who had what he called a tenor voice, and his wife, who played the pianoforte very fairly, came over to assist at a Penny Reading."
• "The main tenor of the discussion has been more about how can coursebooks be customised so that they better match the needs, interests, learning styles, contexts, etc of the learners."
• "There email exchange, in tenor and content, make it pretty clear what facts Sen. Carroll has in mind to uncover."