monologue
Americannoun
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a form of dramatic entertainment, comedic solo, or the like by a single speaker.
a comedian's monologue.
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a prolonged talk or discourse by a single speaker, especially one dominating or monopolizing a conversation.
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any composition, as a poem, in which a single person speaks alone.
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a part of a drama in which a single actor speaks alone; soliloquy.
noun
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a long speech made by one actor in a play, film, etc, esp when alone
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a dramatic piece for a single performer
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any long speech by one person, esp when interfering with conversation
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of monologue
1615–25; < French, on the model of dialogue dialogue; compare Greek monólogos speaking alone
Explanation
A monologue is a speech delivered by one person, or a long one-sided conversation that makes you want to pull your hair out from boredom. The Greek root word monologos translates to “speaking alone,” and that’s a monologue: one person doing all the talking. In theatre, sometimes a character has a monologue that they perform. You might have an internal monologue where you talk to yourself to better understand some dilemma. Some people talk forever in a constant monologue, never letting you speak. If two people talk back and forth, it’s a dialogue, which is different and probably more fun for everyone.
Vocabulary lists containing monologue
"The Crucible" -- Vocabulary from all 4 Acts
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"The Crucible" -- Vocabulary from Act 3
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Reading: Literature - Drama - Introductory
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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.
“Our founding fathers drafted a charter to guarantee the rule of law and the rights of man,” says Obama in an introductory monologue.
From Salon • Jun. 26, 2026
Olsen: You recently hosted the new “SNL UK” and in your monologue, you made this joke that you don’t just play intense roles, that there’s this image of you that it’s all that you do.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 11, 2026
That wryly ironic, quietly devastating and now-famous monologue, scored with Iggy Pop’s mad rush of a punk anthem, “Lust for Life,” sets off a cinematic whirlwind.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026
Or as Laurie Metcalf’s Weed makes clear in her hilarious monologue before the Central Park gig.
From Los Angeles Times • May 29, 2026
Once he’d finished his monologue about his construction projects, he closed with an exuberant “I miss you so much! How arejyow?”
From "Endangered" by Eliot Schrefer
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.
