descanting

verb

present participle of descant
1
as in speaking
to give a formal often extended talk on a subject an English professor who loves to descant on his beloved Shakespeare

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in chanting
to produce musical sounds with the voice the world-famous soprano descanted above the melody line

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for descanting
  1. speaking
  2. chanting
  3. lecturing
  4. talking
Verb
  • Depending on which Republican is speaking, Americans are getting a different perspective on how bad things are with the economy.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 21 Oct. 2026
  • As grounds for exoneration go, this is not, strictly speaking, bulletproof evidence of anything.
    — Hershal Pandya, Vulture, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of speaking
Verb
  • The demonstrators can be seen chanting and holding placards in the video above, from the Reuters news agency.
    — Elina Baudier Kim, CNN Money, 17 Oct. 2026
  • An hour before a ball was even kicked on Sunday afternoon, the beating of drums and chanting from the River Guard supporters group could be heard loud and clear from the locker rooms at the Boas Soccer Complex.
    — Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of chanting
Verb
  • Respondents in England and Australia were more likely to associate teaching with institutional, credentialed and paid professional roles, such as nursing, lecturing and social work.
    — Gustavo E. Fischman, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026
  • For decades, Zinn traveled the country lecturing to packed auditoriums.
    — Barbara Spindel, Christian Science Monitor, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of lecturing
Verb
  • About half of the inmates are never identified by name onscreen and aren’t featured in talking-head interviews.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Moderna and Merck are talking with regulatory authorities about next steps for seeking approval of the vaccine.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of talking
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

descanted
descanting
descants
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Descanting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/descanting. Accessed 25 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of emissary

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 23

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All