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
-
Serna and Hulst never got the chance to speak one last time.—
Scott M. Reid,
Oc Register,
30 May 2026
-
The person requested anonymity because they're not permitted to speak publicly about the confidential discussions.—
Kai Nicol-Schwarz,
CNBC,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
On Monday, hundreds of youths marched to the gates of the air base, chanting anti-Ebola slogans.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
1 June 2026
-
On the lawn of Jim Gilliam Park on Saturday, supporters from across the city chanted Pratt’s name, took selfies in front of black campaign vans with his hummingbird logo and ate cookies decorated with his face as kids raced around on scooters and played with the handful of dogs attending.—
Sandra McDonald,
Los Angeles Times,
31 May 2026
Noun
-
Major stars from his talent agency joined the chorus calling for Casey Wasserman to resign as the chairman of LA28 after emails the mogul exchanged with Ghislaine Maxwell were revealed in the Epstein files in February.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
4 June 2026
-
The verse is tethered to the earth; the chorus glides like a 747.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
4 June 2026
Noun
-
The observations were corroborated by security video, the chief said.—
Tim Stelloh,
NBC news,
30 May 2026
-
After that incident, he was placed in an enhanced observation module for 24 hours before being cleared and moved into administrative separation.—
Kelly Davis,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
30 May 2026
Verb
-
Bad teams are given mechanisms to recover, not lectures about bootstraps.—
Eddie Brown,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
30 May 2026
-
One can scarcely imagine Davis agreeing to a management interview with Forbes or lecturing executives about organizational leadership.—
Bill Fischer,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2026
Verb
-
Our mother, who had annoyed me deeply throughout most of my life, managed something so heroic that there should have been songs written about her to be sung around campfires by Girl Scouts.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 June 2026
-
The machine’s repertoire included answers to 12 riddles, passages from books, and laughing, crying and kissing sounds, as well as arias sung in both male and female voices—all feats that Edison’s phonograph would one day be able to accomplish by recording and playing back the human voice.—
Ron Cowen,
Scientific American,
3 June 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
-
Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark didn’t slam the brakes on College Football Playoff expansion during his state-of-the-conference remarks Friday in Frisco, Texas — that authority belongs exclusively to the Big Ten and SEC.—
Jon Wilner,
Mercury News,
29 May 2026
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Consistent with remarks from her fellow central bankers, Bowman noted that the policy reaction depends on the duration of the conflict with Iran.—
Jeff Cox,
CNBC,
29 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Descant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/descant. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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