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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Strictly speaking, the Democrats didn’t vote to end the shutdown.—
Jon Allsop,
New Yorker,
11 Nov. 2025
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Backstage later, Raw general manager Adam Pearce spoke about what just occurred with Punk, Jey, and Cody against The Vision.—
Matthew Couden,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Nov. 2025
Verb
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On the 15-track album, Rosalía uses strings, chanting, and religious iconography even while singing about cars, luxury, and jet-setting.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
7 Nov. 2025
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Numerous supporters gathered behind the north goal and chanted, sang, danced, waved flags and banged drums for the better part of the match’s 90 minutes.—
Tom Krasovic,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The song kicks off with a string orchestra introduction followed by a Carmina Burana-like chorus and then Rosalía singing in an operatic soprano voice — in three languages.—
Dan Rys,
Billboard,
5 Nov. 2025
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Starting as a chorus pig on The Muppet Show in the mid-1970s, Miss Piggy gradually became a bigger part of the series, before becoming an icon in the late ’70s and early ’80s.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Unlike terrestrial weather, scientists who forecast celestial events like the aurora rely on observations of the 93-million-miles-away sun to make their predictions.—
John Tufts,
IndyStar,
11 Nov. 2025
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Not trying to spark controversy but this is an obvious observation.—
Ted Nguyen,
New York Times,
11 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The same government that lectures Beijing about state capitalism and nonmarket behaviors now practices it at home.—
Veronique De Rugy,
Oc Register,
23 Oct. 2025
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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
Verb
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How many of you sing when no one’s around?—
Max Klaver,
Miami Herald,
8 Nov. 2025
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The song has experienced a resurgence thanks to the TikTok challenge, where two people stand back to back, with one person lip-synching the 4 Non Blondes song while the other sings Minaj's rap from her 2012 track.—
Virginia Chamlee,
PEOPLE,
8 Nov. 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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Sotomayor’s record and public remarks position her as one of the Court’s strongest defenders of LGBTQ rights.—
Robert Alexander,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Nov. 2025
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But that dynamic heated to a boiling point when ABC suspended the program in September, following Kimmel's brief remarks regarding the MAGA response to the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Descant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/descant. Accessed 13 Nov. 2025.
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