Meaning 1
Skilled in, sensitive to, or strongly interested in music.
Reach for it when praising a person's ear, understanding, or performing ability
The musical child could remember a tune after hearing it once.
Meaning 2
Pleasantly patterned in sound like music.
Reach for it when describing a voice, language, or sound with pleasing pitch and rhythm
Her musical speaking voice made the long passage easy to follow.
| Meaning 1 | Meaning 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| everyday | ||
| warm |
| |
| professional | ||
| formal | ||
| literary |
|
everyday
Fits when notable ability deserves broad praise
Careful Talented is not music-specific and can overcredit innate ability.
warm
music-loving
Fits when enthusiasm matters more than performance skill
Careful Love of music does not establish an accurate ear or technical ability.
warm
musically gifted
Fits when unusual natural aptitude is genuinely supported
Careful Gifted can erase training and sets a higher threshold than musical.
warm
Fits when a person or performance reliably produces clear melody
Careful Tuneful describes output and does not cover knowledge or sensitivity.
professional
musicianly
Fits when judgment and behavior reflect an accomplished musician
Careful Musicianly is uncommon and more specific than generally musical.
warm
Fits when sound is pleasant and songlike
Careful Melodious concerns pleasant sound, not musical skill.
professional
rhythmic
Fits when patterned timing creates the musical effect
Careful Rhythm alone can be harsh or mechanical.
formal
Fits when combinations of sounds are pleasing to the ear
Careful Euphonious is technical and says nothing about melody or skill.
literary
lilting
Fits when a buoyant rise and fall makes sound appealing
Careful Lilting implies a specific light rhythm and can stereotype an accent.
literary
Fits when smooth, rich flow is the exact quality
Careful Mellifluous is ornate and can overstate a simple pleasant voice.
musical ability
Her musical ability includes careful listening as well as performance.
highly musical
The highly musical arranger notices how each voice carries a phrase.
musical voice
His musical voice rises gently at the end of each sentence.
musical sound
Water passing through the stone channels makes a musical sound.
Keep in mind
Tone-deaf is a literal hearing-related term and is also used figuratively in ways that can stigmatize disability; insensitive is clearer for social criticism.
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Dvortygirl, American accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Updated
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