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

• 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

There’s a certain monotony that engulfs the gym during the rigors of training camp, and that dissipates somewhat when a game day is in view. —Roderick Boone, Charlotte Observer, 5 Oct. 2025

And despite the monotony of it all, there is some hope to be had, plenty of meaning to be found and, perhaps more importantly, a friendship to enjoy. —Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Sep. 2025

But fanfiction, long a force in the corners of the internet that managed to escape the commercial monotony of tech consolidation, has broken its containment. —Nikki McCann Ramirez, Rolling Stone, 23 Sep. 2025

Climbers add dimension and vertical movement to the garden, breaking up the monotony of fence lines. —Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 22 Sep. 2025

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