as in expression
a lexical item that has only one syllable
He answered all their questions with monosyllables like "yes" and "no."
Related Words
Relevance
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 monosyllable
And so, while the two talked at and around Andy Warhol and to each other, Warhol sat with his tiny dachshund, Archie Bunker, in his lap and snapped the reporters’ pictures with his new Polaroid camera, answering direct questions with shrugs or vague monosyllables.
—
Stephen Birmingham, Town & Country, 10 Aug. 2023
Hearing this jab of monosyllables is like being poked in the eye.
—Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2023
His surprise was expressed in a monosyllable.
—Roger Robinson, Outside Online, 21 Dec. 2021
But where the two Stegosaurus brothers speak in Jurassic monosyllables, Stegothesaurus has the gift of a bountiful vocabulary.
—Meghan Cox Gurdon, WSJ, 22 June 2018
The result is an idiom of great spareness and simplicity:
The words are short, mostly monosyllables.
—Gregory Hays, New York Times, 5 Dec. 2017
Still on the ground, Huete answers with monosyllables before using a cell phone to call his sister, who arrived at the scene soon after …
—James Hohmann, Washington Post, 26 May 2017
The title of Frantz is something else again, neither a piece of hand-holding nor an act of mild subversion, but a monosyllable with a gift for multitasking—and an index of the impacted richness that the film displays for roughly an hour.
—Leo Robson, Newsweek, 4 May 2017
Original writer Derek Kolstad and director Chad Stahelski have returned for the sequel, alongside the taciturn Reeves, who brews up more of his Wickian magic while speaking infrequently and mostly in monosyllables.
—Katie Walsh, The Mercury News, 9 Feb. 2017
Stephen Birmingham, Town & Country, 10 Aug. 2023
Hearing this jab of monosyllables is like being poked in the eye.
—Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2023
His surprise was expressed in a monosyllable.
—Roger Robinson, Outside Online, 21 Dec. 2021
But where the two Stegosaurus brothers speak in Jurassic monosyllables, Stegothesaurus has the gift of a bountiful vocabulary.
—Meghan Cox Gurdon, WSJ, 22 June 2018
The result is an idiom of great spareness and simplicity:
The words are short, mostly monosyllables.
—Gregory Hays, New York Times, 5 Dec. 2017
Still on the ground, Huete answers with monosyllables before using a cell phone to call his sister, who arrived at the scene soon after …
—James Hohmann, Washington Post, 26 May 2017
The title of Frantz is something else again, neither a piece of hand-holding nor an act of mild subversion, but a monosyllable with a gift for multitasking—and an index of the impacted richness that the film displays for roughly an hour.
—Leo Robson, Newsweek, 4 May 2017
Original writer Derek Kolstad and director Chad Stahelski have returned for the sequel, alongside the taciturn Reeves, who brews up more of his Wickian magic while speaking infrequently and mostly in monosyllables.
—Katie Walsh, The Mercury News, 9 Feb. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for monosyllable
Noun
-
The potential represents a fundamentally different relationship between technology and society — one where artificial intelligence could serve as a medium for cultural expression rather than cultural homogenization.—
Cornelia C. Walther,
Forbes.com,
29 Aug. 2025
-
For leaders, entrepreneurs, and ambitious professionals, Crone’s work helps to dismantle the subconscious barriers preventing the fullest expression of potential.—
Wyles Daniel,
USA Today,
28 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Incidentally, clients often ask me about situations involving a common phrase like this, wondering whether such a common term can be protected by a single person.—
Jess Collen,
Forbes.com,
30 Aug. 2025
-
The phrase was on T-shirts all over the stadium as Irish fans mocked Miami’s bad-guy image that percolated on swagger, on battle fatigues worn on road trips.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
29 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Asked at the time by The Athletic to explain the decision to leave Enciso out, Hurzeler did not mince his words.—
Andy Naylor,
New York Times,
4 Sep. 2025
-
With words like these, act fast on this deal!—
George Yang,
PC Magazine,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
In a multistage process of evolution, words describing diverse body parts had changed into morphemes referring to different zones and fused with content words to yield meaning.—
Anvita Abbi,
Scientific American,
16 May 2023
-
The slips of paper contained the morphemes, which are the building blocks for the entire language.—
Ian Austen,
BostonGlobe.com,
22 Apr. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Monosyllable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/monosyllable. Accessed 5 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share