monotone

American  

[mon-uh-tohn] / ˈmɒn əˌtoʊn /

noun

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

2. a single tone without harmony or variation in pitch.

3. recitation or singing of words in such a tone.

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

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

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adjective

1. monotonous.

2. consisting of or characterized by a uniform tone of one color.

   a monotone drape.

3. Mathematics. monotonic.

monotone British  

/ ˈmɒnəˌtəʊn /

noun

1. a single unvaried pitch level in speech, sound, etc

2. utterance, etc, without change of pitch

3. lack of variety in style, expression. etc

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adjective

1. unvarying or monotonous

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

Etymology

Origin of monotone

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

Explanation

Monotone is a droning, unchanging tone. Nothing can put you to sleep quite as effectively as a teacher talking in a monotone. The Greek word for "one tone" is monotonia, which is the root for both monotone and the closely-related word monotonous, which means "dull and tedious." A continuous sound, especially someone's voice, that doesn't rise and fall in pitch, is a monotone. When someone speaks in a monotone, his voice is flat and boring — plus listeners don't know how the speaker is feeling when everything sounds the same.

Example Sentences

“I have always valued my lifelessness,” Ortiz says in a hilariously monotone voice, quoting Tik-Tok.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 7, 2026

“Everyone belongs…” In a low monotone Rustin recited the six principles.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 11, 2025

Ms Hodson wrote: "I asked him about the incident at his admissions meeting and he was monotone, emotionless and very matter of fact about his intentions."

From BBC • Oct. 21, 2025

Detractors fault her flat, monotone delivery, though if you’re acting opposite Martin Short and Steve Martin, you need to find your own lane.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 15, 2025

He had sat between Lauren and Maya on their living room couch while Maya explained everything in a monotone that didn’t even sound like her own voice.

From "Far from the Tree" by Robin Benway