monosyllabic
mono·syl·lab·ic
adj \ˌmä-nə-sə-ˈla-bik\Definition of MONOSYLLABIC
1
: consisting of one syllable or of monosyllables
2
: using or speaking only monosyllables
3
: conspicuously brief in answering or commenting : terse
— mono·syl·lab·i·cal·ly \-bi-k(ə-)lē\ adverb
— mono·syl·la·bic·i·ty \-ˌsi-lə-ˈbi-sə-tē\ noun
Examples of MONOSYLLABIC
- The movie star was monosyllabic with newspaper reporters.
- <the sullen teenager would give only a monosyllabic response to even the friendliest question>
Origin of MONOSYLLABIC
probably from French monosyllabique, from monosyllabe
First Known Use: 1766
Related to MONOSYLLABIC
Synonyms: aphoristic, apothegmatic, brief, capsule, compact, compendious, crisp, curt, elliptical (or elliptic), epigrammatic, laconic, concise, pithy, sententious, succinct, summary, telegraphic, terse, thumbnail
Related Words: abrupt, blunt, brusque (also brusk), short, snippety, snippy; abbreviated, abridged, condensed, curtailed, shortened; meaty, substantial; meaningful, significant; well-turned
Near Antonyms: pleonastic, redundant, repetitious, tautological, tautologous; enlarged, expanded, supplemented; embellished, embroidered, exaggerated, inflated
Other Grammar and Linguistics Terms
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