monotonous

adjective

mə-ˈnä-tə-nəs How to pronounce monotonous (audio)
Definition of monotonousnext
as in boring
causing weariness, restlessness, or lack of interest the lecturer's monotonous delivery threatened to put us to sleep

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of monotonous Those monotonous and tedious tasks are exactly what robots are for, Black said. — Noelle Harff, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Aug. 2026 Draped in turquoise and gold, the ornate Art Deco façade immediately sets it apart from the monotonous, modern buildings along Ocean Avenue. — Joe Yogerst, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026 There is the rhythmic, at times monotonous pattern of the minor-league baseball season. — Spencer Nusbaum, New York Times, 10 July 2026 Some claimed that Buddhists, like Asians generally, were passive and lazy, and that their religious rites reflected a dull, monotonous approach to life. — Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 7 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for monotonous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for monotonous
  1. boring
  2. tiring
  3. slow
  4. dull
  5. stupid
  6. weary
  7. dusty
  8. old
Adjective
  • Despite its tranquil reputation, knitting is anything but boring.
    — Emma Gometz, Scientific American, 8 Oct. 2026
  • On the North Side, a site is being prepped for the digging of an access tunnel 70 feet in diameter into which a giant boring machine will begin tunneling 15 miles under and along our three rivers.
    — Andy Sheehan, CBS News, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of boring
Adjective
  • The repetition can grow tiring, but that frustration is precisely the point.
    — Beverly Gage, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Even on a long, tiring shoot, the cast mostly still finds the energy to celebrate each other.
    — Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of tiring
Adjective
  • The slow rate at which this is occurring indicates this cosmic vampirism will last for hundreds of thousands to billions of years.
    — Robert Lea, Space.com, 8 Oct. 2026
  • The problem is that these systems are slow, expensive and don’t scale.
    — Reynald Fasciaux, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of slow
Adjective
  • This is a season so overwhelmingly dull that it’s taken three different gay guys to recap it.
    — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Iñárritu seems to think this visual alone is funny, but that would require getting past the persistently dull and witless writing.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of dull
Adjective
  • Trump’s super intelligence rebrand can ultimately be read in a couple ways, though arguably neither are particularly nuanced or incisive — just further indicative of the daily deluge of stupid.
    — Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Once upon a time, the idea that the world was growing stupider was mostly confined to the realm of dyspeptic reactionary polemic.
    — James Marriott, Washington Post, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of stupid
Adjective
  • And in storm-weary Hawaii, there’s the potential for catastrophic flooding from a growing Hurricane Nolo.
    — John Raby, Chicago Tribune, 25 Sep. 2026
  • These short and intentional pauses from your tasks have been clinically proven to offer your weary brain a boost.
    — Cheryl Fenton, Flow Space, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of weary
Adjective
  • Most mega-bestsellers of eras past are forgotten, and even the award winners that make their way into academic syllabi fade into dusty bibliography.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 7 Oct. 2026
  • This promo includes the very plush Russell storage bed in a bewitching dusty lilac velvet.
    — Yelena Moroz Alpert, Architectural Digest, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of dusty
Adjective
  • The proximity to his father was what worried Lorena Zschaber, a 40-year-old photographer, who watched the results roll in at an LGBTQ+ friendly bar in downtown Rio de Janeiro.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 5 Oct. 2026
  • The 168-year-old magazine’s breakout journalism, its digital success, and a bit of good timing have given both Goldberg and Thompson plenty to brag about on the media podcast circuit.
    — Max Tani, semafor.com, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of old

Browse Nearby Words

monotone
monotonous
monotonousness
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Monotonous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/monotonous. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
a cup of tea and a golf ball on tee side by side
Quiz: Sounds Like... Choose the word that sounds like it fits the clue...
See All