- wearisome routine; dullness
- lack of variety in pitch or cadence
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
mo•not•o•ny
(mə not′n ē),USA pronunciation n.
- wearisome uniformity or lack of variety, as in occupation or scenery.
- the continuance of an unvarying sound;
monotone. - sameness of tone or pitch, as in speaking.
- Late Greek monotonía, equivalent. to monóton(os) monotonous + -ia -y3
- 1700–10
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
monotony /məˈnɒtənɪ/ n ( pl -nies)
mo•not•o•nous /məˈnɑtənəs/USA pronunciation
adj.
mo•not•o•nous•ness, mo•not•o•ny /məˈnɑtəni/USA pronunciation n. [uncountable]a life of monotony.See -ton-.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- lacking in variety:a boring, monotonous job.
- said in one unchanging tone.
mo•not•o•nous•ness, mo•not•o•ny /məˈnɑtəni/USA pronunciation n. [uncountable]a life of monotony.See -ton-.
mo•not•o•nous
(mə not′n əs),USA pronunciation adj.
mo•not′o•nous•ly, adv.
mo•not′o•nous•ness, n.
- lacking in variety;
tediously unvarying:the monotonous flat scenery. - characterizing a sound continuing on one note.
- having very little inflection;
limited to a narrow pitch range.
- Late Greek monótonos. See mono-, tone, -ous
- 1770–80
mo•not′o•nous•ness, n.
- 1. tedious, humdrum, boring, dull.
'monotony' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):