monotony

[ muh-not-n-ee ]

noun

1. wearisome uniformity or lack of variety, as in occupation or scenery.
2. the continuance of an unvarying sound; monotone.
3. sameness of tone or pitch, as in speaking.

monotony

/ məˈnɒtənɪ /

noun

1. wearisome routine; dullness
2. lack of variety in pitch or cadence

Word History and Origins

Origin of monotony¹

1700–10; < Late Greek monotonía, equivalent to monóton ( os ) monotonous + -ia -y ³

Example Sentences

So, Cauthen says, activating your brain to focus on how you’re feeling while steering yourself away from monotony can make your workouts more fulfilling on both the physical and mental end.

From Popular-Science

Furthermore, content creators and brands often find themselves in the cycle of social media posting, which can lean heavily into monotony and automation – two major factors that drive down engagement.

From Search Engine Watch

It was an intense day, in contrast to others, where monotony is the norm.

From Washington Blade

Thankfully, Kane and Latif’s lead performances alleviate some of that limited-perspective monotony, exhibiting a charisma—and sly deviousness—that captures the dangerous allure of believing everything you see on your screen.

From The Daily Beast

With the entire theater at his disposal, Douglas breaks any visual monotony by letting the actresses drift across the aisles, seats and stage.

From Washington Post

Many of them boiled over in the monotony; they raged that their suffering felt pointless.

From The Daily Beast

Life's fleeting nature, as well as the monotony of it, is apparent in every frame.

From The Daily Beast

After a few days of excessive nervousness the most timorous among the women were heard to complain of the monotony of existence!

From Project Gutenberg

The monotony of our journey was rather romantically interrupted by our straying for a short distance from the right road.

From Project Gutenberg

And they escaped monotony—supreme achievement in the difficult circumstances.

From Project Gutenberg

No plot of shrubbery or flower-garden broke the gray monotony of the place.

From Project Gutenberg

The monotony of his schooldays was only broken by his Sunday exeat which was spent at home.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• tedium