1
as in to speak
to give a formal often extended talk on a subject
an English professor who loves to descant on his beloved Shakespeare
Synonyms & Similar Words
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variants
also discant
1
as in chorus
Related Words
2
as in observation
Related Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of descant
Jesse Green, New York Times, 3 Aug. 2023
For seven decades, Katz has been providing a visual descant to the work of the New York School of poets, many of whom were his friends.
—Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 29 Oct. 2022
The Hynde storyline, which includes her messing around with songs on an acoustic guitar, runs as a kind of descant against the personal and professional noise of the Pistols.
—Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 31 May 2022
Then comes a longer descant of mixed-up work, including bad versions of pop tunes and ambitious attempts at pop epics.
—Adam Gopni, The New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2021
Verb
Bart, too idiosyncratic merely to copy the idiosyncrasies of the movie’s Christopher Lloyd, instead adds a descant of commentary atop them, sometimes seeming to extemporize a different show entirely.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 3 Aug. 2023
For seven decades, Katz has been providing a visual descant to the work of the New York School of poets, many of whom were his friends.
—Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 29 Oct. 2022
The Hynde storyline, which includes her messing around with songs on an acoustic guitar, runs as a kind of descant against the personal and professional noise of the Pistols.
—Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 31 May 2022
Then comes a longer descant of mixed-up work, including bad versions of pop tunes and ambitious attempts at pop epics.
—Adam Gopni, The New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for descant
Verb
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Earlier in the day, Knowles spoke with Sherri Shepherd on the Sherri show, and praised Blue Ivy for performing onstage with her mother in front of crowds of 70,000 people per night.—
Angel Saunders,
PEOPLE,
28 Oct. 2025
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Diane Brady is an award-winning business journalist and author who has interviewed newsmakers worldwide and often speaks about the global business landscape.—
Diane Brady,
Fortune,
28 Oct. 2025
Verb
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TikTok videos show security calling out the names of missing children on the mic as the audience chanted for Yachty to come onstage.—
Jennah Pendleton,
Sacbee.com,
21 Oct. 2025
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Crowds jumped, chanted and leaned into the sense of communal rebellion, all while celebrating the band's zaniness.—
Audrey Gibbs,
Nashville Tennessean,
20 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Most of the song, the pre-chorus, chorus, all that stuff, that was really quick.—
Maya Georgi,
Rolling Stone,
22 Oct. 2025
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Once the chorus comes back around, Beer happily performs on a float in the middle of the parade.—
Jack Irvin,
PEOPLE,
21 Oct. 2025
Noun
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These artificial stars, moving across the sky in a quick succession, will mar astronomical observation but potentially also confuse migratory birds.—
Tereza Pultarova,
Space.com,
21 Oct. 2025
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These practices slow you down, sharpen your observation, and deepen your connection to the local environment.—
Alesandra Dubin,
Southern Living,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
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But Andres Bernal, a political analyst who lectures at the City University of New York, thinks many young voters look at Cuomo's history of controversy and are reminded of the Democratic Party establishment that has left them disillusioned.—
Brian Mann,
NPR,
22 Oct. 2025
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Before the Orange Bowl in January, Penn State head coach James Franklin used his dual pregame press conference with Marcus Freeman to lecture the college football world on his belief that Notre Dame should join a conference.—
Jordan Sigler,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The performance will bring together EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami, who sing for the roles of Rumi (Arden Cho ), Mira (May Hong), and Zoey (Ji-young Yoo), respectively.—
Ingrid Vasquez,
PEOPLE,
25 Oct. 2025
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Together the flavor is muddled, slightly discordant, but alone the Irish whiskey gets to sing, its apples and pears and slight malt and gentle touch a perfect foil to the zesty front palate of the lemon and the deep finish of the almonds.—
Jeremy Repanich,
Robb Report,
25 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Latin polyphony and motets are being sung at the Offertory and during the distribution of Holy Communion.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
7 June 2025
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The service and concert will take place at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 5, at the church, 815 S. Washington St. Castle Singers are vocalists who perform a variety of chamber repertoire, varying from Renaissance madrigals and motets to contemporary pop and vocal jazz.—
Aurora Beacon-News,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Saudi Arabia’s nine-year-old economic transformation plan, known as Vision 2030, is 85% complete, Minister Al-Falih said in opening remarks at the Fortune Global Forum.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
27 Oct. 2025
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By the end, the resonance of naming the movie after that remark takes on more layers than a seven-year-old Benji Stiller sliding down a snowy hill in Central Park.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
27 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Descant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/descant. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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