monotonic

American  

[mon-uh-ton-ik] / ˌmɒn əˈtɒn ɪk /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or uttered in a monotone.

   a monotonic delivery of a lecture.

2. Mathematics.

   1. (of a function or sequence) either consistently increasing in value and never decreasing, or consistently decreasing in value and never increasing.

      A monotonic sequence can either converge or diverge, but it can never oscillate.

   2. (of an ordered system of sets) consisting of sets such that each set contains the preceding set or such that each set is contained in the preceding set.

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Usage

What does monotonic mean? Monotonic describes something of, related to, or said in a monotone, as in Minh fell asleep in history because of the professor’s monotonic voice.When something sounds monotonic, its sound is a single pitch or tone, with changes, harmony, or background tones. Sometimes, parts of a song or speech will be purposely delivered monotonically, but usually something that is monotonic is considered boring.In mathematics, monotonic describes a function or a portion of a function that is always increasing or decreasing. For example, a parabolic function plotted on a chart will always have a monotonic decreasing portion that decreases to zero, a point at 0,0, and a monotonic increasing portion rising up.Example: His monotonic speech was so dull it put me to sleep in the first 10 minutes.

Other Word Forms

• monotonically adverb

Etymology

Origin of monotonic

First recorded in 1790–1800; monotone + -ic

Example Sentences

If he were to be believed, his wife, three adult kids and their spouses were monotonic mumblers.

From Washington Post • Nov. 5, 2021

“Certain academic fields in mathematics and engineering are infamous for presenting material in drab, monotonic, esoteric, non-interactive manners.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2017

Bill Reddan steered his boat, the Jeanne II, by GPS, staring more intently at computer screens than at the monotonic mist that was starboard, port and everywhere between.

From New York Times • Jun. 17, 2010

At the end, a trio of teenagers sang India's monotonic national anthem, Jana Gana Mana�Rulers of the People's Hearts.

From Time Magazine Archive

The quail's song is merely a monotonic rhythmical figure to which German fancy has fitted words of pious admonition: Listen View Lilypond Conventional idioms.

From How to Listen to Music, 7th ed. Hints and Suggestions to Untaught Lovers of the Art by Krehbiel, Henry Edward