monophonic

adjective

mono·​pho·​nic ˌmä-nə-ˈfä-nik 

-ˈfō-

1

: having a single unaccompanied melodic line

2

: of or relating to sound transmission, recording, or reproduction involving a single transmission path

monophonically

ˌmä-nə-ˈfä-ni-k(ə-)lē 

-ˈfō-

adverb

Examples of monophonic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Until the 1870s, Shaker music was monophonic, with a single melodic line sung in unison and without instrumental accompaniment. — Christian Goodwillie, The Conversation, 22 Dec. 2025

The ensemble was first formed in 1951 by composer Filip Kutev, who reworked monophonic village tunes into multi-part harmonic arrangements that drew from Western choral singing while preserving the ardent throatiness of Bulgarian folk. — Emma Madden, Pitchfork, 21 Dec. 2025

In the nineteen-fifties, much of the standard repertory was recorded in monophonic sound. — David Denby, New Yorker, 20 July 2025

Clarke started out, with Depeche Mode, using a monophonic synthesizer — a keyboard that could play only one note at a time. — Rob Tannenbaum, New York Times, 14 Nov. 2023

The recordings offer modest fidelity—monophonic sound recorded on lacquer discs, some off-mic solos—but offer exciting listening. — John Edward Hasse, WSJ, 24 Dec. 2018

Word History

First Known Use

1852, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for monophonic

• anharmonic
• anionic
• avionic
• catatonic
• cationic
• chorionic
• cosmogonic
• diachronic
• diatonic
• electronic
• embryonic
• excitonic

Kids Definition

monophonic

adjective

mono·​pho·​nic ˌmän-ə-ˈfän-ik 

: of or relating to sound recording or reproduction involving a single transmission path