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

Advertisement Jisoo as Seo Mi-rae Courtesy of Netflix More specifically, Boyfriend on Demand is a meta exploration of how many women use story-worlds as a cathartic, sometimes productive escape from the monotony and demands of their offline routines. —Kayti Burt, Time, 6 Mar. 2026

Greg decides to shake off the monotony of his life by taking a position as Writer in Residence at the prestigious (fictional) Ludlow College. —Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 5 Mar. 2026

Freed from the monotony of Tommy John rehab, Ryan tries not to focus on winning a spot in the season-opening rotation, aware of how many starters the Dodgers will need over the course of the season – last year 17 different pitchers started at least one regular-season game for the Dodgers. —Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 2 Mar. 2026

After a brutal and solid opening, Ghostface settles into monotony. —Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 26 Feb. 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