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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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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
Noun
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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These answers are provided here to allow candidates to speak directly to our readers.—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
21 Mar. 2026
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At the dinner, Norris spoke about how his politics put him on a path to achieve his life goal in helping youth focus on martial arts with his program Kickstart Kids.—
Brayden Garcia,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
21 Mar. 2026
Verb
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In Madrid, thousands chanted slogans against the war and expressed solidarity with civilians affected by the conflict.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
14 Mar. 2026
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Some waved Iranian flags; others burned American and Israeli flags, or chanted anti-US and anti-Israeli slogans.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
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But the chorus is watching, and the hour is late.—
Anthony Scaramucci,
Fortune,
19 Mar. 2026
-
The clips featured the band recording the song in the middle of the desert, with the snippet highlighting the back half of the pre-chorus and the first half of the chorus.—
Andrew Unterberger,
Billboard,
18 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Astronomers have confirmed the presence of a new exoplanet discovered in observations from Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS).—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Mar. 2026
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Her work consistently comes from a genuine place — rooted in personal insight, emotion, and thoughtful observation — giving it a sense of honesty that is both rare and powerful.—
Heide Janssen,
Oc Register,
15 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Resist the urge to explain, defend or lecture.—
Becky Kennedy
Sheryl Ziegler,
CNBC,
12 Mar. 2026
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My father founded private hospitals south of Johannesburg, and my mother lectured anatomy, presiding over dissections and preparing meat dishes at home with the same attentive care — removing sinew and fat with a dedicated set of kitchen scalpels.—
Jan Steyn,
The Dial,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Iran’s national women’s soccer team has arrived home, state media reported, amid fears over their fate after the squad did not sing the national anthem ahead of a game at a tournament in Australia, two days after the United States and Israel began their war with Iran.—
Yarden Segev,
NBC news,
18 Mar. 2026
-
Gary and Georgia sang mountain songs as the car flew down the highway.—
Jonathan Bernstein,
Rolling Stone,
17 Mar. 2026
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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In his opening remarks, committee lead lawyer Victor Dawes said the likeliest cause of the fire was that cigarettes lit other materials on fire on a platform in an air shaft between two low-level units in Wang Cheong House.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
20 Mar. 2026
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In presenting the Best Actor winners, Adrien Brody perfectly, if perhaps unconsciously, echoed Johnson’s remarks from more than 50 years earlier.—
Peter Tonguette,
The Washington Examiner,
20 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Descant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/descant. Accessed 21 Mar. 2026.
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