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
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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People who live near where the incident took place spoke to CBS News Miami about what happened.—
Ana Maria Soler,
CBS News,
11 Apr. 2026
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The two men spoke with disdain for Europe, and Szijjártó agreed to help in removing an Uzbek-Russian oligarch’s sister from a European sanctions list.—
Kapil Komireddi,
New Yorker,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
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On streets and avenues across the capital, drivers blared car horns and cranked up anti-government songs while people marching in the streets chanted and screamed.—
Justin Spike,
Fortune,
13 Apr. 2026
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As Bianco walked through the bayfront convention hotel after the forum, he was swarmed by supporters chanting his name.—
Seema Mehta,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Aziza Scott is a hoot as Anna’s pregnant best friend/real-talk Greek chorus of sorts, and Coiro herself doles out zingers as a random tourist on a bus.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
9 Apr. 2026
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Dawn choruses are getting shorter and the oceans echo with the din of transcontinental shipping and deep-sea mining.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The astronauts snapped thousands of photos during their historic pass around the moon, shot video and recorded their personal observations to give researchers insights based on the color sensitivity of the human eye.—
William Harwood,
CBS News,
12 Apr. 2026
-
The astronauts obliged, returning detailed observations of Orientale.—
Mike Wall,
Space.com,
11 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Ratmoko is also a photographer, writer, and scholar who has lectured on intercultural communication schools including Yale University and the University of Zurich.—
Sydney Lake,
Fortune,
11 Apr. 2026
-
During orientation, new hires are lectured that Kino wants to protect users from harmful images; meanwhile, their boss, Josh (Jermaine Fowler), would cut out his own spleen on camera to keep people’s eyeballs on the app.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Iran's women's team made headlines last month when several members didn't sing along to the country's national anthem before their opening match at the Women’s Asian Cup in Australia.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
9 Apr. 2026
-
Docu in advanced development follows a 70-year-old Kuna woman who sings to restore spiritual balance while searching for an heiress as rising sea levels threaten her territory.—
Anna Marie de la Fuente,
Variety,
8 Apr. 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
-
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
-
Zelenskyy made his first public acknowledgment of the operations Wednesday in remarks to reporters that were embargoed until Friday.—
Brian Dakss,
CBS News,
11 Apr. 2026
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His remarks were broadcast on April 9 during an interview in Havana with NBC's Meet the Press anchor Kristen Welker.—
Rick Jervis,
USA Today,
10 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Descant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/descant. Accessed 16 Apr. 2026.
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