monotonous

adjective

mo·​not·​o·​nous mə-ˈnä-tə-nəs How to pronounce monotonous (audio)
-ˈnät-nəs
1
: uttered or sounded in one unvarying tone : marked by a sameness of pitch and intensity
2
: tediously uniform or unvarying
monotonously adverb
monotonousness noun

Examples of monotonous in a Sentence

Altogether, millions of mostly obscure entries in the public record offer details of a forced labor system of monotonous enormity. Douglas A. Blackmon, Slavery By Another Name, 2008
At times, the grayness of the place was consumed by its own monotonous noise, of bars clanging, of inmates being led through the corridors, of guards yelling out orders … Benjamin Weiser, New York Times Magazine, 6 Aug. 2000
The monotonous chant of the indoctrinated, ideologically armored from head to foot … Philip Roth, American Pastoral, 1997
The crickets stridulated their everlasting monotonous meaningful note. John Updike, The Witches of Eastwick, 1984
the lecturer's monotonous delivery threatened to put us to sleep
Recent Examples on the Web Neutral inflection results in a robotic, monotonous way of speaking, while upward inflection can make every sentence sound like a question. Philip Ellis, Men's Health, 29 Aug. 2023 Jeans can get, well, monotonous to look at after some time. Michelle Rostamian, Peoplemag, 18 Aug. 2023 Director Neill Blomkamp adds some formalist flourishes to the driving sequences, turning what could have been a monotonous series of races into entertaining and engaging fun. Lucas Trevor, Washington Post, 23 Aug. 2023 Happiness No one enjoys a monotonous five-day-a-week office routine. Gleb Tsipursky, Fortune, 21 Aug. 2023 For decades, the entertainment industry has been a monotonous merry-go-round, with creativity often shoved in the backseat while profit margins ride shotgun. Seth Yudof, Rolling Stone, 16 Aug. 2023 Her speech is slow, slurred, her voice monotonous and nasal. Brandy Zadrozny, NBC News, 4 Aug. 2023 The result is an organic touch that breaks up the otherwise monotonous space. Parker Bowie Larson, ELLE Decor, 30 June 2023 Unfortunately, much of today’s synthesized, monotonous, cookie-cutter and somewhat vapid music will be lucky to last a year, maybe 10, but certainly not 60 years or more, as is the case with Bennett’s repertoire. Los Angeles Times, 29 July 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'monotonous.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Greek monotonos, from mon- + tonos tone

First Known Use

1776, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of monotonous was in 1776

Dictionary Entries Near monotonous

Cite this Entry

“Monotonous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/monotonous. Accessed 26 Sep. 2023.

Kids Definition

monotonous

adjective
mo·​not·​o·​nous mə-ˈnät-ᵊn-əs How to pronounce monotonous (audio)
-ˈnät-nəs
1
: uttered or sounded in one unchanging tone
2
: boring from being always the same
a monotonous task
monotonously adverb
monotonousness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on monotonous

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