soliloquy

noun so·lil·o·quy \ sə-ˈli-lə-kwē \

|Updated on: 16 Jul 2018

Editor's Note: Soliloquy vs. monologue

Definition of soliloquy

plural soliloquies

1 : the act of talking to oneself

2 : a poem, discourse, or utterance of a character in a drama that has the form of a monologue or gives the illusion of being a series of unspoken reflections

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Examples of soliloquy in a Sentence

But if it is hard for the theatergoer to catch all the meanings in Macbeth's rippling soliloquies, then how much harder is that task when Shakespeare seems unable or unwilling to unpack his obscurities. —James Wood, New Republic, 26 June 2000
A funny thing happened to Billy Joel on the way to the recording studio recently. "I was walking down the street," he says, "and there was this big guy with long, stringy, greasy hair just talking to the air—screaming, actually. He was in the middle of this angry soliloquy when he looked at me, stopped and said in a regular voice, 'Hey, Billy, how ya doin'?' And then he went right back into his tirade." —Elysa Gardner, Rolling Stone, 10 June 1993
After Allen left, what became known as "The Tonight Show" fell into the hands of a genuine original. Jack Paar was an eminently normal-looking man, a former G.I. entertainer who planted himself at a desk instead of scampering around like Allen had. He would begin his shows in a low, well-modulated voice, exuding a dangerous calm. Then, periodically, but never predictably, he would lurch into disgruntled, pathetic soliloquies, decrying some indignity visited upon him by the network or the press. —Alex Ross, New Republic, 8 Nov. 1993

Recent Examples of soliloquy from the Web

His soliloquy was a mixture of excitement with traces of melancholy.

— katrina brooker, The Hive, "“I Was Devastated”: Tim Berners-Lee, the Man Who Created the World Wide Web, Has Some Regrets," 1 July 2018
At his best, Leach is a brilliant football coach whose offense puts up a ton of points and makes people laugh with his soliloquies on everything from dating to the existence of Bigfoot.

— dan wolken, USA TODAY, "Mike Leach's tweet of an anti-Obama hoax showed why many schools won't hire him," 18 June 2018
But in Yellowstone, everything happens — big, soapy things that are usually punctuated by long soliloquies.

— tim goodman, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Yellowstone': TV Review," 18 June 2018
Prospero gives a final soliloquy at the end of The Tempest that has often been read as the coded words of Shakespeare himself renouncing the stage.

— josephine livingstone, The New Republic, "Puzzled by Westworld? Look to Shakespeare.," 26 June 2018
For a guy who doesn't always like to get into roster specifics, Jim Harbaugh gave a roughly 10-minute uninterrupted soliloquy this week on the Michigan football players many folks have never heard of.

— nick baumgardner, Detroit Free Press, "Michigan football roster challenge interesting motivator by Harbaugh," 13 June 2018
The Kansas City Baroque Consortium, performing songs, sonnets and soliloquies with period instruments, will take the audience back a few centuries.

— dan kelly, kansascity, "KC events June 14-20: Royals, ‘Peter Pan,’ Neal Brennan, Flag Day festivities," 12 June 2018
But one thing was clear: not all Twitter users were on board with his seat belt soliloquy.

— travis andersen, BostonGlobe.com, "Martellus Bennett balks at buckling up on a plane: ‘I’m a peacock you gotta let me fly.’," 24 Apr. 2018
On Thursday, Beethoven’s brief, simple opening piano entrance was like a multipart soliloquy.

— david patrick stearns, Philly.com, "Yannick and Grimaud connect like soul mates in Beethoven's 'Piano Concerto No. 4'," 18 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'soliloquy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Soliloquy vs. monologue

Soliloquy and monologue cover very similar ground, but there are some important differences between the two words. Soliloquy (from the Latin solus “alone” and loqui “to speak”) at its most basic level refers to the act of talking to oneself, and more specifically denotes the solo utterance of an actor in a drama. It tends to be used of formal or literary expressions, such as Hamlet’s soliloquies. Monologue (from Greek monos "alone" and legein "to speak") may also refer to a dramatic scene in which an actor soliloquizes, but it has other meanings as well. To a stand-up comedian, monologue denotes a comic routine. To a bored listener, it signifies a long speech uttered by someone who has too much to say.