monotone

C2+ Topic:Communication

US /ˈmɑnəˌtoʊn/ UK /ˈmɒnəˌtəʊn/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a single unvaried tone or pitch in speech or sound

He read the report in a dull monotone.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a single unvaried tone or... drone monotony sameness

Opposites

variety modulation inflection

Word family

Derived forms monotonousmonotonicmonotonously

Related forms tone monotony

Etymology

From Late Latin monotonus, from Ancient Greek monotonos ('of one tone'), from monos ('single') + tonos ('tone, pitch'), from teinein ('to stretch').

monotonos Ancient Greek monos Ancient Greek tonos Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Communication

External links

# monotone

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈmɑnəˌtoʊn/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈmɒnəˌtəʊn/

## Meanings
1. a single unvaried tone or pitch in speech or sound

## Examples
- He read the report in a dull monotone.

## Synonyms
- drone
- monotony
- sameness

## Antonyms
- variety
- modulation
- inflection

## Derived Forms
- monotonous
- monotonic
- monotonously

## Related Forms
- tone
- monotony

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: monotonos
- Root: monos
- Root: tonos
- Affix: mono- - one

## Etymology
From Late Latin monotonus, from Ancient Greek monotonos ('of one tone'), from monos ('single') + tonos ('tone, pitch'), from teinein ('to stretch').

## AI Etymology
Monotone comes from Late Latin monotonus, from Ancient Greek monotonos ('of one tone'), from monos ('single') + tonos ('tone, pitch'), from teinein ('to stretch'). The historical trail runs through Ancient Greek monotonos, Ancient Greek monos and Ancient Greek tonos. Morphologically, the surface form is analyzable into prefixes, suffixes, compounds, or participial endings that carry part of the history. In modern use it means a single unvaried tone or pitch in speech or sound. Derived formations include monotonous, monotonic, monotonously; related forms include tone, monotony.

## Topics
- Communication

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