Color variations
The crossword clue "Color variations" is answered by TONES, a 5-letter entry. Used 16 times across 13 distinct years; most recently in 2026; first recorded in 1981. It appears in 9 publications in the xd corpus. Every figure on this page comes from the collection data itself, never from a guess.
The answer
TONES
5 letters. See every clue for this answer on the TONES answer page.
Used 16 times across 13 distinct years; most recently in 2026; first recorded in 1981. It appears in 9 publications in the xd corpus. Frequency and last-seen figures come from the xd crossword corpus only.
Other answers for this clue
The same clue has also been answered these ways in the xd corpus. Answers inside this collection link to their own answer page.
Other clues for TONES
Every other clue in this collection answered by TONES, most used first.
- Musical sounds - used 60 times, most recently in 2026
- Shades - used 40 times, most recently in 2026
- Shades of color - used 24 times, most recently in 2026
- Hues - used 15 times, most recently in 2026
- Sounds - used 15 times, most recently in 2025
- Steps on a scale? - used 12 times, most recently in 2026
- Phone sounds - used 11 times, most recently in 2026
- Shadings - used 11 times, most recently in 2006
- Vocal qualities - used 11 times, most recently in 2026
- Pitches - used 10 times, most recently in 2017
- Musical notes - used 9 times, most recently in 2025
- Firms up - used 8 times, most recently in 2022
- Sound qualities - used 8 times, most recently in 2009
- Color qualities - used 7 times, most recently in 2022
- Softens, with "down" - used 7 times, most recently in 2024
- Vocal inflections - used 7 times, most recently in 2024
- Accents - used 6 times, most recently in 2005
- Chromatic nuances - used 6 times, most recently in 2023
- ___ down (softens) - used 6 times, most recently in 2025
- Inflections - used 6 times, most recently in 2003
- Moderates, with "down" - used 6 times, most recently in 2015
- Musical pitches - used 6 times, most recently in 2008
Related clues
Clues in this collection of the same answer length that share a word with this clue, or match its answer pattern when no word is shared. Most used first.
- Hint of color - TINGE, used 104 times
- Lost color - PALED, used 66 times
- "Enigma Variations" composer - ELGAR, used 61 times
- Loses color - PALES, used 56 times
- Drained of color - ASHEN, used 53 times
- Loses color - FADES, used 41 times
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