set the tone (third-person singular simple present sets the tone, present participle setting the tone, simple past and past participle set the tone)

1. Create the emotional quality to be expected for something.
   • 2022 October 1, Phil McNulty, “Arsenal 3-1 Tottenham: Gunners show identity & direction in outstanding derby win”, in BBC Sport‎^[1]:

     Jesus, a comparative bargain at £45m, sets the tone with relentless pressing and goals that have already made him an indispensable part of Arteta's plans, while Zinchenko brings quality, calm and creation.

2. This term needs a definition. Please help out and add a definition, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.
   • 2025 December 11, Charlie Campbell, Andrew R. Chow and Billy Perrigo, “The Architects of AI Are TIME’s 2025 Person of the Year”, in Time‎^[2]:

     The tone was set at Trump’s Inauguration. Tech moguls streamed into Washington; some sat behind the President during his Inaugural Address, a signal of the power they would wield. Over the next 11 months, they would use their enormous cash reserves, cultural power, and momentum to push their products into homes across the world.

• set the pace
• set the scene
• set the stage

• “set the tone for something”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.
• “set the tone”, in Merriam-Webster.com Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.