monolithic
Americanadjective
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of or relating to a monolith.
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made of only one stone.
a monolithic column.
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consisting of one piece; solid or unbroken.
a boat with a monolithic hull.
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constructed of monoliths or huge blocks of stone.
the monolithic monuments of the New Stone Age.
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characterized by massiveness, total uniformity, rigidity, invulnerability, etc..
a monolithic society.
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Electronics. of or relating to an integrated circuit formed in a single chip.
adjective
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of, relating to, or like a monolith
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characterized by hugeness, impenetrability, or intractability
a monolithic government
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electronics (of an integrated circuit) having all components manufactured into or on top of a single chip of silicon See hybrid
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of monolithic
Explanation
When something is monolithic it's big, and made of one thing. A large piece of stone jutting from the earth is a monolith, and Detroit's economy when it depended entirely on the auto industry was monolithic. Broken into its roots mono and lithic, monolithic means simply "one stone." When monolithic is used to describe something societal — like a religion or an organization — it has a slightly negative connotation. For example, a monolithic society is rigid and homogenous, not open to new ideas. Being monolithic is good for rocks, but not so good for groups of people.
Vocabulary lists containing monolithic
The Pearl
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "M"
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Dune
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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 big large monolithic model, it's $15 per million tokens, but you can get that down to like five cents if you use the smaller mini model," says Adrian Balfour of consultancy Enverso.
From Barron's ● May 31, 2026
They also outperformed monolithic devices made from alternative materials by at least a factor of three to four.
From Science Daily ● May 30, 2026
Over and over again, Turner shook up established industries by invading quickly and expanding options for consumers, while railing against monolithic competitors who were less daring or nimble than his maverick Turner Broadcasting System.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026
Its monolithic character has caused some to call it Brutalist, although it lacks the ponderous dignity of Cold War Brutalism.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
There was something fluid, insubstantial, in the very heaviness of this city built of monoliths, this monolithic state that called the part and the whole by the same name.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
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.
