adjective
-
dull and tedious, esp because of repetition
-
unvarying in pitch or cadence
Other Word Forms
- monotonously adverb
- monotonousness noun
- unmonotonous adjective
- unmonotonously adverb
Etymology
Origin of monotonous
From the Late Greek word monótonos, dating back to 1770–80. See mono-, tone, -ous
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.
The film is so committed to its rigors — the two-person cast, the glacial camera pivots, the moody lighting — that it teeters on the line of becoming monotonous.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 11, 2026
I used to feel that time spent devoted to improving your body was fruitless or monotonous.
From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 11, 2025
It can get a little bit monotonous and a little bit tedious.
From BBC • Sep. 9, 2025
That’s enough to cycle in three or four dinners over the course of a quarter — plenty to be useful, but not so much that it becomes monotonous.
From Salon • Sep. 9, 2025
All on top of the long and monotonous years spent learning the basics of the machine that had given birth to the space program.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
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.
