monotony

noun

mo·​not·​o·​ny mə-ˈnä-tə-nē 

-ˈnät-nē

1

: tedious sameness

the monotony of the landscape

the monotony of prison life

fixing a variety of foods to avoid monotony

—SHAPE

2

: sameness of tone or sound

the soft monotony of her voice

Synonyms

• humdrum
• monotone
• monotonousness
• sameness

Examples of monotony in a Sentence

She hated the monotony of the job.

The brief storm was a relief from the monotony of the hot summer afternoon.

Recent Examples on the Web

The robot questions its meaning and purpose and tries to combine dark humor and social commentary about the monotony of work and the inevitability of technological progress. —Matthew Pittman, The Conversation, 6 Feb. 2025

The apparent monotony of their daily lives was only interrupted by loud sounds piercing through the walls. —Raquel Carvalho, TIME, 5 Feb. 2025

Indeed, United tell their young players that the reality of being a top footballer is that most of your career is spent in low moments or the monotony of practice. —Andy Mitten, The Athletic, 2 Jan. 2025

Nurture your creative instincts and set aside time for experimentation and innovation on your favorite passion, rather than endure the monotony of the same old thing. —Martin Zwilling, Forbes, 10 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Late Latin monotonia "sameness of tone," borrowed from Greek monotonía (attested only in the work of quintillian), from monótonos "lacking variation in pitch, monotone entry 2" + -ia -y entry 2

First Known Use

1636, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Kids Definition

monotony

noun

mo·​not·​o·​ny mə-ˈnät-ᵊn-ē 

-ˈnät-nē

plural monotonies

1

: sameness of tone or sound

2

: lack of variety

especially : a lack of change that causes boredom