monotonous

adjective

mo·​not·​o·​nous mə-ˈnä-tə-nəs 

-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

Synonyms

• arid
• boring
• colorless
• drab
• dreary
• drudging
• dry
• dull
• dusty
• flat
• heavy
• ho-hum
• humdrum
• jading
• jejune
• leaden
• mind-numbing
• monochromatic
• numbing
• old
• pedestrian
• ponderous
• slow
• stale
• stodgy
• stuffy
• stupid
• tame
• tedious
• tiresome
• tiring
• uninteresting
• wearisome
• weary
• wearying

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

Getting to do it with a fun little tool only adds to the serotonin boost of what would otherwise feel like a monotonous task. —Nena Farrell, Wired News, 19 Apr. 2025

Fiction, meanwhile, can upturn such collective attitudes by conveying the specificity of actual working lives and workplaces, recognizing that even the most monotonous labor can shape the self. —Rhian Sasseen, The Atlantic, 17 Apr. 2025

Grit is doing monotonous things over and over and over again, and Spencer is all about that. —Michael Osipoff, Chicago Tribune, 11 Apr. 2025

As preternaturally still sniper Elliott (Cosmo Jarvis) keeps an eye on al-Qaida operatives in a nearby marketplace, the rest of the guys do push-ups, tell jokes and listen to radio chatter in a sort of ominously monotonous limbo. —Brian Truitt, USA Today, 10 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

— more at monotone entry 1 + -ous

Note: Oxford English Dictionary, third edition, takes the word as a direct borrowing from Greek monótonos, with the addition of the suffix -ous.

First Known Use

1776, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

monotonous

adjective

mo·​not·​o·​nous mə-ˈnät-ᵊn-əs 

-ˈnät-nəs

1

: uttered or sounded in one unchanging tone

2

: boring from being always the same

a monotonous task

monotonously adverb

monotonousness noun