Verb
set the tone (third-person singular simple present sets the tone, present participle setting the tone, simple past and past participle set the tone)
Create the emotional quality to be expected for something.
The calm and tolerant atmosphere that prevailed during the elections depicts the type of South Africa we can build. It set the tone for the future. We might have our differences, but we are one people with a common destiny in our rich variety of culture, race and tradition. Nelson Mandela
I think when you work with really wonderful directors who have a really strong vision, it lets you as an artist set the tone for your own career. Sarah Gadon
The first 20 stories written about a public figure set the tone for the next 2,000 and it is almost impossible to reverse it. Charles Colson
I don't really know what inspires me to write the music I do, but usually, the music will set the tone for the lyrics. Eddie Van Halen
When I was a young writer there had been a stage where Camus, almost more than any other contemporary literary figure, radically set the tone for my own view of life and history. William Styron
As the lead of a movie, you really set the tone off-camera as well, and that's a really big responsibility. Jenna Fischer