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

Della Valle told Chavez that keeping himself busy, in whatever constructive ways possible, was the only way to make it through the monotony with his sanity intact. — Mica Rosenberg, ProPublica, 6 July 2026

These cowboy songs were meant to soothe restless cattle during the night or break the monotony of isolation. — Ted Olson, The Conversation, 2 July 2026

The way Adult Swim’s slate of low-fi, off-kilter programming managed to interrupt the monotony of 2000s cable TV, Friedland’s show follows a familiar format while subtly contorting it. — Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 29 June 2026

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

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