Meanings
adjectivemonotonous (comparative more monotonous, superlative most monotonous)
comparative more monotonous · superlative most monotonous
- Having an unvarying pitch or tone.
"But my daughter—but the Lady Eveline"—said the Fleming, with some slight change in his monotonous voice, which seemed to express doubt and perplexity—"You are cruel conquerors, and—"
1825 June 22, [Walter Scott], chapter V, in Tales of the Crusaders. […], volume I (The Betrothed), Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC, page 95 - Tedious, repetitious, or lacking in variety.
[L]istening for a moment, she heard the monotonous and heavy tread of the soldier echoing through the passage.
1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter VII, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 49Synonyms: samely, routine, habitual, perennial, recurrent, recurring, repeating, repetitional · Antonyms: various
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveTedious, repetitious, or lacking in variety.
Similar
Opposite
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivesounded or spoken in a tone unvarying in pitch
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Englishmonotone
- Proto-Indo-European*h₃ed-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₃édosder.?
- Englishmonotonous
Translations
Ancient Greek μονότονος
- μονότονος (monótonos)having an unvarying tone or pitch
Arabic مُمِلّ
- مُمِلّ (mumill)tedious, repetitious or lacking in variety
Bulgarian монотонен, еднообразен
- монотонен (monotonen)having an unvarying tone or pitch
- еднообразен (ednoobrazen)having an unvarying tone or pitch
- скучен (skučen)tedious, repetitious or lacking in variety
Catalan monòton, monòton
- monòtonhaving an unvarying tone or pitch
- monòtontedious, repetitious or lacking in variety
Chinese Mandarin 單調 /单调
- 單調 /单调 (dāndiào)tedious, repetitious or lacking in variety
Czech monotónní, monotónní
- monotónníhaving an unvarying tone or pitch
- monotónnítedious, repetitious or lacking in variety
- neměnnýtedious, repetitious or lacking in variety
- ztrnulýtedious, repetitious or lacking in variety
- fádnítedious, repetitious or lacking in variety
- jednotvárnýtedious, repetitious or lacking in variety
- nudnýtedious, repetitious or lacking in variety
Danish enstonig, monoton
- enstonighaving an unvarying tone or pitch
- monotonhaving an unvarying tone or pitch
- ensformigtedious, repetitious or lacking in variety
- monotontedious, repetitious or lacking in variety
Dutch monotoon, eentonig
- monotoonhaving an unvarying tone or pitch
- eentonighaving an unvarying tone or pitch
- monotoontedious, repetitious or lacking in variety
- eentonigtedious, repetitious or lacking in variety
- saaitedious, repetitious or lacking in variety
Esperanto unutona, monotona
- unutonahaving an unvarying tone or pitch
- monotonatedious, repetitious or lacking in variety
Finnish yksitoikkoinen, monotoninen
- yksitoikkoinenhaving an unvarying tone or pitch
- monotoninenhaving an unvarying tone or pitch
- yksitoikkoinentedious, repetitious or lacking in variety
- monotoninentedious, repetitious or lacking in variety
- pitkäveteinentedious, repetitious or lacking in variety
- pitkäpiimäinentedious, repetitious or lacking in variety
- ikävystyttävätedious, repetitious or lacking in variety
- kyllästyttävätedious, repetitious or lacking in variety
German monoton, monoton
- monotonhaving an unvarying tone or pitch
- monotontedious, repetitious or lacking in variety
- eintönigtedious, repetitious or lacking in variety
- abwechslungslostedious, repetitious or lacking in variety
Greek μονότονος, ανιαρός
- μονότονος (monótonos)having an unvarying tone or pitch
- ανιαρός (aniarós)tedious, repetitious or lacking in variety
Hebrew מונוטוני
- מונוטוני (monotóni)having an unvarying tone or pitch
Hungarian egyhangú, monoton
- egyhangúhaving an unvarying tone or pitch
- monotonhaving an unvarying tone or pitch
- egyhangútedious, repetitious or lacking in variety
- monotontedious, repetitious or lacking in variety
Irish aontonach
- aontonachhaving an unvarying tone or pitch
Italian monocorde, monotono
- monocordehaving an unvarying tone or pitch
- monotonotedious, repetitious or lacking in variety
Japanese 単調な, 単調な
- 単調な (tanchō na)having an unvarying tone or pitch
- 単調な (tanchō na)tedious, repetitious or lacking in variety
Polish monotonny
- monotonnyhaving an unvarying tone or pitch
Portuguese monótono, monótono
- monótonohaving an unvarying tone or pitch
- monótonotedious, repetitious or lacking in variety
Russian моното́нный, однозву́чный
- моното́нный (monotónnyj)having an unvarying tone or pitch
- однозву́чный (odnozvúčnyj)having an unvarying tone or pitch
- одното́нный (odnotónnyj)having an unvarying tone or pitch
- моното́нный (monotónnyj)tedious, repetitious or lacking in variety
- однообра́зный (odnoobráznyj)tedious, repetitious or lacking in variety
- ску́чный (skúčnyj)tedious, repetitious or lacking in variety
Scottish Gaelic aon-ghuthach
- aon-ghuthachhaving an unvarying tone or pitch
Spanish monótono, monótono
- monótonohaving an unvarying tone or pitch
- monótonotedious, repetitious or lacking in variety
Swedish entonig, monoton
- entonighaving an unvarying tone or pitch
- monotonhaving an unvarying tone or pitch
- enformigtedious, repetitious or lacking in variety
Turkish tekdüze, tekdüze
- tekdüzehaving an unvarying tone or pitch
- tekdüzetedious, repetitious or lacking in variety
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
APA
monotonous. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/monotonous
MLA
“monotonous.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/monotonous. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “monotonous,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/monotonous.
Source: monotonous on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.