descant 1 of 2

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

descant

2 of 2

noun

variants also discant

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of descant
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 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 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 Birds provided an intermittent descant to the insect buzz and the drone of a distant tractor. Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 2 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 This is a dark and defensive descant to a more substantial and necessary conversation about whiteness in America. Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 3 July 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for descant
Verb
  • Trump will reportedly speak with President Xi Jinping this week, signaling the intent to avoid a broader tariff war between the world’s top two economies.
    Amala Balakrishner, CNBC, 4 Feb. 2025
  • But Jordan, who simultaneously signs and speaks his interview for the film, was not born deaf, and some saw him as an outsider, introducing further conflict into the documentary’s retelling of events.
    Peter Debruge, Variety, 3 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • State of play: Students walked out of their classes and crowded the plaza outside the capitol, crying, chanting and screaming as the lawmakers inside started work on the special session.
    Adam Tamburin, Axios, 28 Jan. 2025
  • Gaza residents posted videos on social media of impromptu celebrations, with crowds of men beating drums and chanting nationalist songs.
    Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 27 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • Within moments, a laughing chorus mimics it; our little group is belting out our rallying cry, established over the past few days of wandering up and down the Nile River.
    Matt Dutile, Travel + Leisure, 7 Feb. 2025
  • Lisa and Raye trade off on the first verse and chorus before passing the baton to Doja, who drops a verse as the song rides out.
    Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 6 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • The observations were made by the European Space Agency's (ESA) Swarm constellation, which consists of three satellites circling the planet in low Earth orbit at altitudes between 287 and 318 miles (462 to 511 kilometers).
    Tereza Pultarova, Space.com, 31 Jan. 2025
  • The observations can also help researchers refine their estimates of the asteroid’s size and trajectory.
    Ashley Strickland, CNN, 31 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • On one occasion, Aldous Huxley lectured on the lurid life of the Renaissance visionary Carlo Gesualdo.
    Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025
  • Marcy Thompson: The couple moved to Berlin, where Rudolf was invited to lecture for the German Social Democratic Party.
    Marcy Thompson, Scientific American, 23 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • Related: What will Kendrick Lamar sing during the Super Bowl?
    Lissete Lanuza Sáenz, StyleCaster, 9 Feb. 2025
  • Jon Batiste will sing the National Anthem, and Kendrick Lamar will perform during the halftime show with SZA.
    Glenn Garner, Deadline, 8 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • Her husband, my grandfather, was not only a composer who wrote liturgical music, motets, symphonies, and string quartets but also a beloved music teacher who believed that music was as crucial to the development of the mind as math.
    Stephanie H. Murray, The Atlantic, 18 Dec. 2024
  • Repetition with fidelity led, with the aid of print, to longer organized forms such as the motet, a vocal music composition, and the conductus, a Latin song with a rhythmic structure.
    Lynn Whidden, Scientific American, 26 July 2024
Noun
  • This became rapidly apparent once Ye blasted out more antisemitic remarks via Instagram and his only recently revived Twitter account, in posts that both platforms have since removed.
    Aja Romano, Vox, 7 Feb. 2025
  • Hours later, Gascón posted to Instagram addressing his remarks.
    Kalhan Rosenblatt, NBC News, 7 Feb. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Descant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/descant. Accessed 12 Feb. 2025.

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