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monologue

or mon·o·log

[mon-uh-lawg, -log]
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noun
  1. a form of dramatic entertainment, comedic solo, or the like by a single speaker: a comedian's monologue.
  2. a prolonged talk or discourse by a single speaker, especially one dominating or monopolizing a conversation.
  3. any composition, as a poem, in which a single person speaks alone.
  4. a part of a drama in which a single actor speaks alone; soliloquy.
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Origin of monologue

1615–25; < French, on the model of dialogue dialogue; compare Greek monólogos speaking alone
Related formsmon·o·log·ic [mon-uh-loj-ik] /ˌmɒn əˈlɒdʒ ɪk/, mon·o·log·i·cal, adjectivemon·o·log·ist [mon-uh-law-gist, -log-ist, muh-nol-uh-jist] /ˈmɒn əˌlɔ gɪst, -ˌlɒg ɪst, məˈnɒl ə dʒɪst/, mon·o·logu·ist [mon-uh-law-gist, -log-ist] /ˈmɒn əˌlɔ gɪst, -ˌlɒg ɪst/, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for monologist

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • At the dullest part in the monologist's offering, "Spider" let go all holds.

  • Looked at as a monologist he might pass if sufficiently interpolated with ah-le-ee!

    I, Mary MacLane

    Mary MacLane

  • Lady Arthur is silenced, for she has not the slightest idea what a monologist is.

  • But the oddest thing was this, that he could take as well as give; he could listen—surely a rare talent in a monologist.

    Grey Roses

    Henry Harland

  • As "Spider" lit, the monologist shouted: "There goes another old friend of Alf's."

British Dictionary definitions for monologist

monologue

noun
  1. a long speech made by one actor in a play, film, etc, esp when alone
  2. a dramatic piece for a single performer
  3. any long speech by one person, esp when interfering with conversation
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Derived Formsmonologic (ˌmɒnəˈlɒdʒɪk) or monological, adjectivemonologist (ˈmɒnəˌlɒɡɪst, məˈnɒləɡɪst), nounmonology (mɒˈnɒlədʒɪ), noun

Word Origin

C17: via French from Greek monologos speaking alone

xref

See soliloquy
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

Word Origin and History for monologist

monologue

n.

1660s, "long speech by one person," from French monologue, from Late Greek monologos "speaking alone," from Greek monos "single, alone" (see mono-) + logos "speech, word," from legein "to speak" (see lecture (n.)).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper