as in expression
a lexical item that has only one syllable
He answered all their questions with monosyllables like "yes" and "no."
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of monosyllable
And so, while the two talked at and around Andy Warhol and to each other, Warhol sat with his tiny dachshund, Archie Bunker, in his lap and snapped the reporters’ pictures with his new Polaroid camera, answering direct questions with shrugs or vague monosyllables.
—
Stephen Birmingham, Town & Country, 10 Aug. 2023
Hearing this jab of monosyllables is like being poked in the eye.
—Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2023
His surprise was expressed in a monosyllable.
—Roger Robinson, Outside Online, 21 Dec. 2021
But where the two Stegosaurus brothers speak in Jurassic monosyllables, Stegothesaurus has the gift of a bountiful vocabulary.
—Meghan Cox Gurdon, WSJ, 22 June 2018
The result is an idiom of great spareness and simplicity:
The words are short, mostly monosyllables.
—Gregory Hays, New York Times, 5 Dec. 2017
Original writer Derek Kolstad and director Chad Stahelski have returned for the sequel, alongside the taciturn Reeves, who brews up more of his Wickian magic while speaking infrequently and mostly in monosyllables.
—Katie Walsh, The Mercury News, 9 Feb. 2017
Still on the ground, Huete answers with monosyllables before using a cell phone to call his sister, who arrived at the scene soon after …
—James Hohmann, Washington Post, 26 May 2017
The title of Frantz is something else again, neither a piece of hand-holding nor an act of mild subversion, but a monosyllable with a gift for multitasking—and an index of the impacted richness that the film displays for roughly an hour.
—Leo Robson, Newsweek, 4 May 2017
Stephen Birmingham, Town & Country, 10 Aug. 2023
Hearing this jab of monosyllables is like being poked in the eye.
—Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2023
His surprise was expressed in a monosyllable.
—Roger Robinson, Outside Online, 21 Dec. 2021
But where the two Stegosaurus brothers speak in Jurassic monosyllables, Stegothesaurus has the gift of a bountiful vocabulary.
—Meghan Cox Gurdon, WSJ, 22 June 2018
The result is an idiom of great spareness and simplicity:
The words are short, mostly monosyllables.
—Gregory Hays, New York Times, 5 Dec. 2017
Original writer Derek Kolstad and director Chad Stahelski have returned for the sequel, alongside the taciturn Reeves, who brews up more of his Wickian magic while speaking infrequently and mostly in monosyllables.
—Katie Walsh, The Mercury News, 9 Feb. 2017
Still on the ground, Huete answers with monosyllables before using a cell phone to call his sister, who arrived at the scene soon after …
—James Hohmann, Washington Post, 26 May 2017
The title of Frantz is something else again, neither a piece of hand-holding nor an act of mild subversion, but a monosyllable with a gift for multitasking—and an index of the impacted richness that the film displays for roughly an hour.
—Leo Robson, Newsweek, 4 May 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for monosyllable
Noun
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Since the phrase was first posted around Jan. 23, the hashtag has been used on 37,000 videos on TikTok, not including the thousands of videos using the expression either on screen or in various contexts.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
3 Feb. 2025
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According to spiritual practices, this energetic field reflects our physical and spiritual well-being and is comprised of several layers: Each layer corresponds to a different chakra, emotional or spiritual aspects of our lives, and the expression of our personalities.—
Cori Sears,
Better Homes & Gardens,
1 Feb. 2025
Noun
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That phrase became a mantra for getting through life with friends and looking forward to the weekend.—
Ethan Shanfeld,
Variety,
6 Feb. 2025
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These programs can also automatically generate secure passwords in order to avoid reusing the same phrases across different sites, a common but risky practice.—
Samantha Riedel,
Them,
5 Feb. 2025
Noun
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His emails are two words long, to the point and nothing extra.—
Lily Moayeri,
SPIN,
10 Feb. 2025
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At the Superdome, the final word was replaced with a man yelping.—
Kevin Dolak,
The Hollywood Reporter,
10 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Important, too, was the morpheme a-, which referred to the mouth and, more broadly, to origins.—
Anvita Abbi,
Scientific American,
16 May 2023
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Those words are made up of morphemes, small elements that change their meaning depending on how they are combined.—
Ian Austen,
BostonGlobe.com,
22 Apr. 2023
Thesaurus Entries Near monosyllable
Cite this Entry
“Monosyllable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/monosyllable. Accessed 16 Feb. 2025.
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