monolingual

[mon-uh-ling-gwuh l or, Canadian, -ling-gyoo-uh l]

adjective

knowing or able to use only one language; monoglot.

spoken or written in only one language.

noun

a monolingual person.

Origin of monolingual

First recorded in 1950–55; mono- + lingual

Related formsmon·o·lin·gual·ism, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for monolingual

Contemporary Examples of monolingual

Chang stressed that her detention was far worse for her monolingual Korean parents than for herself.
Despite Obama’s Order, Deportation Looms for an Immigrant Dreamer
Allison Yarrow
June 23, 2012

Historical Examples of monolingual

The time when the intellectual affairs of America could be conducted on a monolingual basis is over.
Instigations
Ezra Pound

British Dictionary definitions for monolingual

monolingual

adjective

knowing or expressed in only one language

noun

a monolingual person

Compare bilingual, multilingual

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012