monotone

[ mon-uh-tohn ]

/ ˈmɒn əˌtoʊn /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR monotone ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a vocal utterance or series of speech sounds in one unvaried tone.

a single tone without harmony or variation in pitch.

recitation or singing of words in such a tone.

a person who is unable to discriminate between or to reproduce differences in musical pitch, especially in singing.

sameness of tone or color, sometimes to a boring degree.

adjective

monotonous.

consisting of or characterized by a uniform tone of one color: a monotone drape.Compare monochromatic(defs 1, 2).

Mathematics. monotonic(def 2).

Words nearby monotone

monotherapy, monothermia, monotint, monotocous, monotonal, monotone, monotonic, monotonize, monotonous, monotony, monotrematous

Origin of monotone

1635–45; < French monotone < Late Greek monótonos monotonous

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for monotone

The computer graphics are monotone overlaid in Lucky Charms leprechaun green.
Up To a Point: Binge Watching Putin's Propaganda Network|P. J. O’Rourke|September 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“And to see great fashion,” he added half-heartedly, in monotone and with no punctuation.
Justin Bieber's Abs Cannot Save Him|Tim Teeman|September 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Hours passed by and the judge read his charges in a monotone.
Russia Rises Up|Anna Nemtsova|July 19, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Good,” he said, in a monotone voice that sounded more like he meant “bad.
My Night at the Golden Globe Awards|Ramin Setoodeh|January 14, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Their carefully scripted words, examined beforehand no doubt by a phalanx of spinmeisters, were barely above a monotone.
Buzz Bissinger: Ban Penn State Football!|Buzz Bissinger|July 13, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Braye spoke in a monotone, his eyes on the floor, his hands nervously twitching.
The Room with the Tassels|Carolyn Wells
A plaintive, tremulous voice began to recite in monotone some stanzas which told how very sad and mournful the whole scene was.
Mayflower (Flor de mayo)|Vicente Blasco Ibez
The door safely shut, she turned a steady look upon Periors rough head, silhouetted in monotone on the pale landscape outside.
The Confounding of Camelia|Anne Douglas Sedgwick
We turned from the contemplation of these two memorials and the monotone of the old monk's prayer filled the church.
Cathedral Cities of Spain|William Wiehe Collins
Nature in primitive wildness encompassed us, but life's song never ran into a monotone.
Last of the Great Scouts|Helen Cody Wetmore

British Dictionary definitions for monotone

monotone

/ (ˈmɒnəˌtəʊn) /

noun

a single unvaried pitch level in speech, sound, etc

utterance, etc, without change of pitch

lack of variety in style, expression. etc

adjective

unvarying or monotonous

Also: monotonic (ˌmɒnəˈtɒnɪk) maths (of a sequence or function) consistently increasing or decreasing in value

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

monotone

noun

adjective

Words related to monotone

Words nearby monotone

Origin of monotone

Examples from the Web for monotone

British Dictionary definitions for monotone

noun

adjective