monosyllabic

[ mon-uh-si-lab-ik ]

/ ˌmɒn ə sɪˈlæb ɪk /

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adjective

having only one syllable, as the word no.

having a vocabulary composed primarily of monosyllables or short, simple words.

very brief; terse or blunt: a monosyllabic reply.

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Origin of monosyllabic

1815–25; <Medieval Latin monosyllabicus, equivalent to Late Latin monosyllab(on) monosyllable (<Greek monosýllabon, noun use of neuter of monosýllabos monosyllabic) + -icus-ic

OTHER WORDS FROM monosyllabic

mon·o·syl·lab·i·cal·ly, adverbmon·o·syl·la·bic·i·ty

[mon-uh-sil-uh-bis-i-tee], /ˌmɒn əˌsɪl əˈbɪs ɪ ti/, noun

Words nearby monosyllabic

monostome, monostrophe, monostrophic, monostylous, monosubstituted, monosyllabic, monosyllabism, monosyllable, monosymmetric, monotask, monotechnic

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use monosyllabic in a sentence

The Scorsese who dispatched Joker with five monosyllabic words wasn’t just a defender of filmmaking as art—he was a wit, a provocateur, a man of taste who was done apologizing for it.
In Pretend It’s a City, Martin Scorsese Shares the Pleasure of Fran Lebowitz’s Company|Judy Berman|January 8, 2021|Time
His first language was Russian, then he learned Swedish, but chooses to perform in monosyllabic broken English.
The Cult of Yung Lean: ‘I’m Building An Anarchistic Society From the Ground Up’|Marlow Stern|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
In interviews, he was likely to remain monosyllabic until the question of equipment arose.
J.J. Cale, Dead at 74, Was a Songwriter Beyond Compare|Malcolm Jones|July 30, 2013|DAILY BEAST
His response, as he remembered it then, had been barely more than monosyllabic.
Bush’s Unanswered 9/11 Questions|Anthony Summers, Robbyn Swan|August 28, 2011|DAILY BEAST

While the boys, many of whom forgot to put on underwear, grunt in monosyllabic tones.
Exactly How Are Men Superior?|Laura Bennett|January 29, 2009|DAILY BEAST
I transpose; all have What harme was (but harm is monosyllabic, and the line is then bad).
Chaucer's Works, Volume 1 (of 7) -- Romaunt of the Rose; Minor Poems|Geoffrey Chaucer
It will be found, indeed, that these double rhymes are as numerous as the single or monosyllabic ones.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Vol 58, No. 357, July 1845|Various
It is the concrete intonation of every syllable and monosyllabic word which gives to speech its distinctive character from music.
The Ontario Readers: The High School Reader, 1886|Ministry of Education
We drank the coffee brought to us before dawn, in grouchy, sleepy, monosyllabic silence.
Tramping on Life|Harry Kemp
At the same time its unequivocally monosyllabic character is beyond doubt.
The Ethnology of the British Colonies and Dependencies|Robert Gordon Latham

British Dictionary definitions for monosyllabic

monosyllabic

/ (ˌmɒnəsɪˈlæbɪk) /

adjective

(of a word) containing only one syllable

characterized by monosyllables; curta monosyllabic answer

Derived forms of monosyllabic

monosyllabically, adverb

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