monochrome

American  

[mon-uh-krohm] / ˈmɒn əˌkroʊm /

noun

1. a painting or drawing in different shades of a single color.

2. the art or technique of producing such a painting or drawing.

3. the state or condition of being painted, decorated, etc., in shades of a single color.

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adjective

1. being or made in the shades of a single color.

   a blue monochrome seascape.

2. having the images reproduced in tones of gray.

   monochrome television.

monochrome British  

/ ˈmɒnəˌkrəʊm /

noun

1. a black-and-white photograph or transparency

2. photog black and white

3. 1. a painting, drawing, etc, done in a range of tones of a single colour

   2. the technique or art of this

4. (modifier) executed in or resembling monochrome

   a monochrome print

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adjective

1. devoid of any distinctive or stimulating characteristics

Other Word Forms

• monochromic
  adjective
• monochromical
  adjective
• monochromically
  adverb
• monochromist
  noun
• monochromy
  noun

Etymology

Origin of monochrome

From the Medieval Latin word monochrōma, dating back to 1655–65. See mono-, -chrome

Explanation

Things that are monochrome have different tones or shades of only one color. If you prefer to use monochrome film, it means that you love black and white photography. Use the adjective monochrome to describe something that's a single color. If you've ever watched an old black-and-white movie, you know what monochrome film looks like. You can also call a black-and-white photograph a monochrome. The Greek root, monochromos, means "of a single color," from monos, "single or one," and khroma, "color." Originally, it referred to art drawn or painted in tones of one color.

Example Sentences

To demonstrate this precision, the researchers used a standard laser to create a microscopic monochrome portrait of Albert Einstein on a thin piece of the material, with points spaced just 700 nanometers apart.

From Science Daily • Apr. 21, 2026

Kyiv was in the depths of a frigid winter so monochrome that the scene on the platform could have been an old newsreel, but it was 2022 and happening in a technicolour, digital age.

From BBC • Feb. 24, 2026

It started with the concept album “A Curious Feeling,” its obsessive autumnal gloom and ornate melodies made even more memorable by the monochrome opacity of the production.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 10, 2026

The enthusiasm also reflects a loss of interest in "workwear" or "quiet luxury", trends that have dominated menswear for years with their simple and often monochrome fabrics.

From Barron's • Jan. 22, 2026

A layer of clouds muddied the sky, bleeding the surrounding color, leaving everything monochrome and drab.

From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson

Related Words

• consistent
• continual
• nonstop
• perpetual
• regular
• stable
• steady
• unbroken
• uninterrupted