monotony

noun

mo·​not·​o·​ny mə-ˈnä-tə-nē 

-ˈnät-nē

1

: tedious sameness

the monotony of the landscape

the monotony of prison life

fixing a variety of foods to avoid monotony

—SHAPE

2

: sameness of tone or sound

the soft monotony of her voice

Synonyms of monotony

• boredom
• humdrum
• monotone

Examples of monotony in a Sentence

She hated the monotony of the job.

The brief storm was a relief from the monotony of the hot summer afternoon.

Recent Examples on the Web

The tension latent in Jobim and Regina’s working relationship gives their rendition a mischievousness that’s sorely missed in the monotony of Art Garfunkel’s version, or the twee precision of Susannah McCorkle’s. —Lily Goldberg, Pitchfork, 13 June 2026

There’s never been a better time to escape the monotony of day-to-day life and venture out to an unexplored horizon. —Jamie Spain, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 June 2026

Long-term monotony, however, can fundamentally restructure the microbial landscape. —Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 6 June 2026

Then, the monotony of the cave’s silence was broken by the sound of splashing as two divers with headlamps bubbled up from beneath the water. —Janis MacKey Frayer, NBC news, 4 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Late Latin monotonia "sameness of tone," borrowed from Greek monotonía (attested only in the work of quintillian), from monótonos "lacking variation in pitch, monotone entry 2" + -ia -y entry 2

First Known Use

1636, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for monotony

• botany
• cottony
• ethnobotany
• paleobotany

Kids Definition

monotony

noun

mo·​not·​o·​ny mə-ˈnät-ᵊn-ē 

-ˈnät-nē

plural monotonies

1

: sameness of tone or sound

2

: lack of variety

especially : a lack of change that causes boredom