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.
“Retirement just came along and became this monolithic concept,” Samuel said.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026
Data centers are mushrooming, so numerous and monolithic they seem abstract, until one starts materializing on the Conodoguinet Creek in Pennsylvania, where I grew up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
The monolithic museum is the anchor for a bigger 19.6-acre site in Chicago's South Side, which has long been home to Barack and Michelle Obama.
From Barron's ● Jun. 4, 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
A glance at it is an eye-opener to all of us accustomed to thinking of China as monolithic.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
