tenorEnglishOxford English Thesaurustenor noun 1 the general tenor of his speech: sense, meaning, theme, drift, thread, tendency, import, purport, intent, intention, burden, thrust, significance, message; gist, essence, substance, spirit; mood, character, vein, flavour; archaic strain. 2 the even tenor of life in the village: course, direction, movement, drift, current, trend.