monotonous

[ muh-not-n-uhs ]

adjective

1. lacking in variety; tediously unvarying:

   the monotonous flat scenery.

   Synonyms: dull, boring, humdrum, tedious

2. characterizing a sound continuing on one note.
3. having very little inflection; limited to a narrow pitch range.

monotonous

/ məˈnɒtənəs /

adjective

1. dull and tedious, esp because of repetition
2. unvarying in pitch or cadence

Derived Forms

• moˈnotonousness, noun
• moˈnotonously, adverb

Other Words From

• mo·noto·nous·ly adverb
• mo·noto·nous·ness noun
• unmo·noto·nous adjective
• unmo·noto·nous·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of monotonous¹

From the Late Greek word monótonos, dating back to 1770–80. See mono-, tone, -ous

Example Sentences

I’ve found that the idea of greeting the morning with an ovation is just the right amount of silly for my work-from-home and often monotonous single life.

From Los Angeles Times

“We purely set out to fulfill our original delightful idea of having fun from escaping from a notoriously monotonous play, but in doing so, as we started to develop what the puzzles were and the way we wanted the audience to interact, it did start to support the themes of the play while also poking a little fun at it,” Jeff says.

From Los Angeles Times

“In a station like this, where we run so many calls as we do, and it’s kind of a monotonous routine, those little wins are really good with the morale. But it’s not so satisfying to see the repeat. And we’re not changing the cycle at all. … It keeps repeating itself over and over again.”

From Los Angeles Times

When you listen carefully, though, there are clear edits between sentences - and the voice, while similar to the principal, sounds quite monotonous.

From BBC

Across Southern California, oft-scorched shrublands have given way to monotonous expanses of quick-to-dry invasive grasses that are of little ecological value, don’t anchor the soil as well as deep-rooted chaparral plants and ignite easily, fueling more and more fires.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• boring
• dreary
• dull
• ho-hum
• humdrum
• plodding
• repetitious
• repetitive
• tedious
• tiresome