monosyllable

C1 Topic:Communication

US /ˌmɑː.noʊˈsɪl.ə.bəl/ UK /ˌmɒn.əʊˈsɪl.ə.bəl/ See IPA manual

Freq #151949

Meanings

1

noun
a word or utterance consisting of one syllable

Each line ends with a monosyllable such as night or rain.
2

noun
a very short, often abrupt one-syllable reply

He answered every question with a reluctant monosyllable.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a word or utterance... one-syllable word

2 noun · a very short, often abrupt... brief replygrunt

Opposites

polysyllable

Word family

Forms monosyllables

Derived forms monosyllabicmonosyllabically

Related forms syllabledisyllablepolysyllable

Etymology

From French monosyllabe and Latin monosyllabum, ultimately from Greek monosyllabos, formed from monos, meaning single, + syllabe, meaning syllable.

Topics

Communication Language & Linguistics Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

markdown