Word to denote a negative tone in the spoken voice

What is an appropriate English word to describe a negative, perhaps passive-aggressive, tone in someone's voice?

I initially thought perhaps using something like "they had a negative lilt in their voice" could work, but most dictionaries agree that lilt is only used for cheerful or happy tones.

I've also searched for antonyms for lilt, but I have not found any dictionaries that contain any.

UPDATE:

I'm trying to come up with written examples. It is quite challenging because we are describing a tonal matter.

I'll present a few examples, but none are perfect. Hopefully I will be successful in conveying the general idea.

1. Let's say you arrive at the doctor's office 5 minutes late. The receptionist says to you, in a bit of a snotty way, "We appreciate if all of our patients arrive on time. I'll see if the doctor can still see you."
2. Let's say you make 5 calls to a businessperson's office to return their call. You make 4 of them during business hours, and one late at night. They then call you back, and say with a [need word here] "Please stop making your calls after hours." (implying you are avoiding them).
3. Let's say you accommodate someone by making an appointment with them at an inconvenient location. After that appointment, they then call, using a [need word here] tone that they have scheduled another appointment at the same location.

In all the examples, the person remains professional, yet is intentionally being a bit nasty. They don't cross that fine line, because they know they have to appear to be professional. Yet, they get right up to the line in order to be passive-aggressive. There is also a bit of a condescending nature involved, as way as a bit of abuse of the power-differential in the relationships.

Solution 1:

Patronizing could work for a slightly negative and condescending manner.

Patronizing - displaying or indicative of an offensively condescending manner (dictionary.com)

Solution 2:

I think of a harsh tone, perhaps a snide tone or remark, or more casually a snarky tone.

Snarky, from Merriam-Webster, including example sentence:

crotchety, snappish

sarcastic, impertinent, or irreverent in tone or manner

Example of snarky in a sentence

The writer at No. 10, Fred Mustard Stewart, died last February at 74. His obituary in The Guardian contained this snarky observation: “Year in, year out, the 600-page mark did not daunt him.” —Dwight Garner, New York Times Book Review, 24 Feb. 2008

Solution 3:

contemptuous (or "contempt")

Collins defines it as:

contemptuous (kəntemptʃuəs ) adjective [usually verb-link ADJECTIVE] If you are contemptuous of someone or something, you do not like or respect them at all.

Synonyms: scornful, insulting, arrogant, withering

He spoke to her, his voice dripping with contempt. His contemptuous tone was backed up by his contemptuous body language.