monophonic
Americanadjective
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Music. of or relating to monophony.
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Also of or noting a system of sound recording and reproduction using only a single channel.
adjective
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Also: monaural. Sometimes shortened to: mono. (of a system of broadcasting, recording, or reproducing sound) using only one channel between source and loudspeaker Compare stereophonic
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music of or relating to a style of musical composition consisting of a single melodic line See also monody
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of monophonic
First recorded in 1880–85; monophon(y) + -ic
Vocabulary lists containing monophonic
Music - Middle School
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Music - High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The early synthesizer was monophonic, able to produce only one note at a time.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
The 170 is an analog monophonic synthesizer with a programmable sequencer that comes with a 70-page illustrated manual, including several sample patch diagrams to get you started.Price:
From The Verge ● Nov. 5, 2019
The Nintendo Entertainment System’s programmable sound generator—Kondo’s orchestra—had just three monophonic sound channels, a noise channel, and a rarely used sample channel.
From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2015
The program included an elegant French love motet and a monophonic lament mourning the death of a sister.
From New York Times ● Oct. 25, 2011
But what all this chant had in common was that it was one memorised, meandering tune with no accompaniment and no harmonising, the Greek term for which is monophonic: one voice.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
