monotone

CEFRC1

/ˈmɒn.ə.təʊn/

noun · adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A voice or sound that stays at one unchanging pitch.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    Of a function: that is always nonincreasing or nondecreasing on an interval.

Examples

  • He read the poem in a monotone.

  • If this is not satisfied, we cannot say that the function is monotone increasing.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
2
Synonyms
2

Also pronounced

  • /ˈmɑ.nə.toʊn/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. Synonym of monochrome.

  2. A single unvaried tone of speech or a sound.

adjective

Extra meaning

  1. Having a single unvaried pitch.

More examples

In context

  • Tom read out Mary's letter to us in a monotone voice.

  • The function f(x)#58;#61;x³ is monotone on #92;R, while g(x)#58;#61;x² is not.

  • The prominence of the syllables is more monotone than in English, the intonation of the latter having a larger variation of stressed and unstressed syllables.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The speaker used a dull blank that never changed in pitch throughout the entire lecture.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From the post-Classical Latin monotonus (“unvarying in tone”) or its etymon the Ancient Greek μονότονος (monótonos, “steady”, “unwavering”); compare cognate adjectives, namely the French monotone, the German monoton, the Italian monotono, and the Spanish monótono, as well as the slightly earlier English noun monotony and adjective monotonical.