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# tonic

noun (a tonic, tonics; tonic — uncountable for the drink); adjective (tonic)

«tonic» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Tonic, or tonic water, is a fizzy drink with a slightly bitter taste. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tonic/#m1)
2. A tonic is something that makes you feel better, stronger or happier: «The holiday was a real tonic». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tonic/#m2)
3. In the past, a tonic was a medicine people believed would make them stronger. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tonic/#m3)
4. (music) The tonic is the first and main note of a musical scale or key, the «home» note, like C in C major. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tonic/#m4)
5. Hair tonic is a liquid put on hair. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tonic/#m5)

### In the lessons

In music lessons, older pupils learn the tonic as «doh», the note a tune often ends on. In everyday life, adults say a walk, sunshine or good news is «a tonic». In history, Victorians bought tonics that often did not really work. Phrases: «a real tonic», «tonic water», «the tonic note».

### Examples

- The sunny weekend was a real tonic after the rainy week. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tonic/#x1)
- Grandad drinks tonic water with ice and lemon. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tonic/#x2)
- Seeing my friends again was just the tonic I needed. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tonic/#x3)
- In C major, the tonic is C. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tonic/#x4)
- The song ends on the tonic, so it sounds finished. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tonic/#x5)
- The old shop sold bottles of health tonic. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tonic/#x6)
- Tonic water glows under ultraviolet light because of the quinine in it. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tonic/#x7)

### Note

Different senses: a drink, a cheering thing, a music note. Not to be confused with «tectonic» (earth plates) or «sonic» (sound).

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «tonic» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tonic/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«tonic» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/tonic.html) on Mova free.