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monotonous

adjective

mə-ˈnä-tə-nəs How to pronounce monotonous (audio)
Definition of monotonousnext
as in boring
causing weariness, restlessness, or lack of interest the lecturer's monotonous delivery threatened to put us to sleep

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 monotonous Draped in turquoise and gold, the ornate Art Deco façade immediately sets it apart from the monotonous, modern buildings along Ocean Avenue. — Joe Yogerst, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026 There is the rhythmic, at times monotonous pattern of the minor-league baseball season. — Spencer Nusbaum, New York Times, 10 July 2026 The two young women at the center of the chamber piece that is Fruit Gathering face more challenges than hard work in a monotonous environment, including exhausting work, economic uncertainty and social repression. — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 8 July 2026 Some claimed that Buddhists, like Asians generally, were passive and lazy, and that their religious rites reflected a dull, monotonous approach to life. — Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 7 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for monotonous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for monotonous
  1. boring
  2. tiring
  3. slow
  4. dull
  5. stupid
  6. weary
  7. dusty
  8. old
Adjective
  • As a matter of fact, this will probably be one of the more boring editions of this column.
    — Gary Davenport, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Alice’s viewpoint is boring, and anyone who agonizes about it forever will never get to the interesting parts.
    — Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of boring
Adjective
  • Swatting at wasps is a bad idea, and simply running from them gets tiring.
    — Nick Perry, USA Today, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Smith, too, struggled to escape the clutches of a Burnley defence that saw Hjalmar Ekdal replace the tiring Igor midway through the second half.
    — Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of tiring
Adjective
  • Complex carbs with fiber slow digestion and sugar absorption, while protein and fat further delay digestion, helping to stabilize blood sugar.
    — Mira Miller, Verywell Health, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Longer messages mean slower communication, so people who study error-correcting codes devise more elaborate schemes to minimize the redundancy in the transmissions while maximizing the number of errors that can be corrected.
    — Jack Murtagh, Scientific American, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of slow
Adjective
  • They were illuminated as dull streaks of red, as the group’s flashlights were covered with red tape to reduce the light.
    — Sean Macaday, Sacbee.com, 19 Sep. 2026
  • Prime Video continues to be one of the most baffling streaming services, from dull originals like Reacher to a revolving catalogue of films that never saw the light of an actual movie theater.
    — Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of dull
Adjective
  • The humor is like laughing about something that was just so stupid, or something that was so traumatic.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026
  • That’s the problem with all of your arguments and stupid comments.
    — Marissa R. Moss, Rolling Stone, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of stupid
Adjective
  • But the image that emerges here is of an already war-weary, fragile and poor country being pushed ever closer to a breaking point.
    — Nic Robertson, CNN Money, 10 Sep. 2026
  • In war-weary Lebanon, Israeli strikes have intensified in response to Hezbollah drone attacks.
    — Suzan Haidamous, Washington Post, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of weary
Adjective
  • My brother comes back into the room, his hands muddy and his knees the colour of dusty brick.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Sepideh Moafi Sepideh Moafi turned to Lebanese designer Georges Hobeika for her attire, sporting a dusty gold gown with a bevy of shimmering embellishments all over the bodice and semi-sheer flowing skirt.
    — Julia Teti, Footwear News, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of dusty
Adjective
  • The sheriff's office's drone was used to assist in checking the approximately 28-acre property and helped identify old kennel and animal-confinement areas.
    — River Valley Democrat-Gazette, Arkansas Online, 9 Sep. 2026
  • The 27-year-old pre-training researcher’s dramatic resignation has fired off a provocative warning on X that instantly sent ripples across the tech sector.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of old

Browse Nearby Words

monotone
monotonous
monotonousness
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Cite this Entry

“Monotonous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/monotonous. Accessed 21 Sep. 2026.

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