timbre.

The quality that distinguishes one sound source from another even at similar pitch and loudness.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• vocal timbre
• metallic timbre

On the page

Her vocal timbre remained familiar through the damaged recording.

A metallic timbre distinguished the bell from the other signals.

Usage notes

Primary category: sensory / description. Forms: Singular timbre; plural timbres. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.