Dictionary Thesaurus Word Dynamo Quotes Reference Translator Spanish

monotone

[mon-uh-tohn]

Example Sentences Origin

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).

:10

:09

:08

:07

:06

:05

:04

:03

:02

:01

Monotone is a GRE word you need to know.

So is monopoly. Does it mean:

exclusive control of a commodity or service in a particular market

obsession with a single subject

LEARN MORE GRE WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source

Link To monotone

Example Sentences

Waves of speeches roll by, reduced by the translator's monotone to a lulling sea song.

The computer then read her answer aloud, in a monotone and with all the wrong inflections.

At rallies even his own supporters were fast bored by the former lawyer's monotone drawl.

EXPAND

Waves of speeches roll by, reduced by the translator's monotone to a lulling sea song.

The computer then read her answer aloud, in a monotone and with all the wrong inflections.

At rallies even his own supporters were fast bored by the former lawyer's monotone drawl.

In areas high above the tree line, where summer flowers have a hard time growing, the landscape can be almost monotone.

Moments later she is slumped in her chair, eyes closed, answering the hypnotist's questions in a zombielike monotone.

I've got to get the kids to a birthday party" as they finish their can-I-take-your-order monotone performances.

People who don't, won't, or can't think about what they are hearing will be satisfied by a pulsating monotone.

For confirmation of the language thing, try standing with your back to a dog and giving commands in a monotone.

As he slurred his monotone words, the crowd yawned, and quickly thinned.

Their fiery halos relieved the green monotone that by late summer ruled the garden.

Rank correlation is preserved under monotone transformations, which includes the log.

To play the game, you record yourself in a monotone.

He read his testimony as if working his way through the agate in a bond offering, his voice a dead-on-arrival monotone.

And many of those that can be convinced will not be so through finger-wagging monotone speechs.

The defendant spoke in a monotone voice and often gazed at his attorney while speaking.

If there were good ideas buried in that deluge of verbiage, they were obscured by his dreary monotone.

Japan has been racially monotone for centuries and this will also change.

I'll take vague directions to faraway restaurants over monotone tour guides any day.

The number of speeches he garbles in his heavily accented monotone can be counted on the fingers of one hand.

That's not something that happens in the monotone of everyday life.

Leary showed no emotion as he read his words in a low monotone from a sheet of paper.

He or she rushes through it, reading in a monotone without looking up, or goes way over or under the specified time limits.

He speaks only to announce his majority opinions, reading summaries in a gruff monotone.

Sitting alone in my office, my voice would be much quieter and monotone.

The mask combines with the symbolic movements of the actor and monotone music to display an artistic beauty.

Others jotted notes and sat stone-faced as the defendant spoke in his usual soft, monotone voice.

But she reads it in a dead monotone and gives no response to the feelings expressed.

There may be a newer version of slate black that is monotone and not greenish.

Both readings are in the normal political monotone of the party line.

The film goes on and on in a kind of reverential narrative monotone.

And it was often offered in a monotone as he stood before a solid-color backdrop that flicked from green to blue.

They choose a tone or emotion for each speech and barrel through it in an energetic monotone.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

monotone (ˈmɒnəˌtəʊn)

—n
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

—*adj*
4.	unvarying or monotonous
5.	maths Also: monotonic (of a sequence or function) consistently increasing or decreasing in value

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

monotone

"an unvarying tone in music or speaking," 1640s; see monotony. Related: Monotonic; monotonically.

Word Dynamo By Dictionary.com

Searching for monotone?
How many words do you actually know?

FIND OUT

Related Words

intone

Matching Quote

"subways, rivered under streets
and rivers . . . in the car
the overtone of motion
underground, the monotone
of motion is the sound
of other faces, also underground—"

-Hart Crane

Partners:Word Bloglines Citysearch The Daily Beast Ask Answers Ask Kids Life123 Sendori Thesaurus

About Privacy Policy Terms of Use API Careers Advertise with Us Contact Us Help

monotone

mon·o·tone