monotony

noun

mo·​not·​o·​ny mə-ˈnä-tə-nē 

-ˈnät-nē

1

: tedious sameness

the monotony of the landscape

the monotony of prison life

fixing a variety of foods to avoid monotony

—SHAPE

2

: sameness of tone or sound

the soft monotony of her voice

Synonyms of monotony

• boredom
• humdrum
• monotone

Examples of monotony in a Sentence

She hated the monotony of the job.

The brief storm was a relief from the monotony of the hot summer afternoon.

Recent Examples on the Web

The Chicago Bears battled injuries, monotony and each other during the offseason, but several important storylines loom heading into the opener against the Carolina Panthers. — Phil Thompson, Chicago Tribune, 6 Sep. 2026

The monotony of waiting While the jury is deliberating, dozens of journalists and attendees are pushed out of the courtroom gallery and into the third-floor hallway. — Nicki Brown, CNN Money, 1 Sep. 2026

Lane was always the guy who interrupted the monotony of a long practice or meeting with a comment or joke. — Jeff Zrebiec, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026

But for workers, the extreme monotony turned the factory floor into a human disaster. — Jason Dressel, Fortune, 10 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Late Latin monotonia "sameness of tone," borrowed from Greek monotonía (attested only in the work of quintillian), from monótonos "lacking variation in pitch, monotone entry 2" + -ia -y entry 2

First Known Use

1636, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for monotony

• botany
• cottony
• ethnobotany
• paleobotany

Kids Definition

monotony

noun

mo·​not·​o·​ny mə-ˈnät-ᵊn-ē 

-ˈnät-nē

plural monotonies

1

: sameness of tone or sound

2

: lack of variety

especially : a lack of change that causes boredom