as in concise
marked by the use of few words to convey much information or meaning
the sullen teenager would give only a monosyllabic response to even the friendliest question
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Recent Examples of monosyllabic
Rick likens his son’s interactions with the media to those of Bill Belichick, the legendary football coach and master of the monosyllabic press conference.
—
Tom Kludt, Vanity Fair, 17 Feb. 2026
Borges tells us that in Tlön’s Ursprache there are no nouns; instead, there are impersonal verbs, modified by monosyllabic prefixes with an adverbial value.
—Literary Hub, 29 Sep. 2025
The Chinese language, unlike alphabetic languages, uses more brain regions due to its monosyllabic, tonal, and logographic nature, which makes understanding brain signals more complex.
—Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 5 Jan. 2025
Eva, a monosyllabic Finn about my age who dressed in head-to-toe black, seemed uninterested in most of what was happening around her, including me.
—Hazlitt, 3 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for monosyllabic
Tom Kludt, Vanity Fair, 17 Feb. 2026
Borges tells us that in Tlön’s Ursprache there are no nouns; instead, there are impersonal verbs, modified by monosyllabic prefixes with an adverbial value.
—Literary Hub, 29 Sep. 2025
The Chinese language, unlike alphabetic languages, uses more brain regions due to its monosyllabic, tonal, and logographic nature, which makes understanding brain signals more complex.
—Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 5 Jan. 2025
Eva, a monosyllabic Finn about my age who dressed in head-to-toe black, seemed uninterested in most of what was happening around her, including me.
—Hazlitt, 3 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for monosyllabic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for monosyllabic
Adjective
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The festival’s footprint is also laid out in a sunny and concise area of the university campus.—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
25 Apr. 2026
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Drawing inspiration from the Cape’s waters, the menu is concise yet innovative.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
23 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Officials said the chaotic incident quickly triggered a multi-agency pursuit, prompting officers to deploy tire-deflation devices along a highway before the situation escalated into a brief foot chase outside of Denver.—
Bonny Chu,
FOXNews.com,
29 Apr. 2026
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After a brief separation in 2007 owing to William's reluctance to commit, the two reconciled, became engaged in 2010 and got married in an awe-inspiring wedding spectacle held at Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011.—
Stephanie Sengwe,
PEOPLE,
29 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The judge considered hundreds of pages of evidence and testimony from San Diego officials, homeowners and their lawyers and determined that the city had not met the burden for what is called summary adjudication in any of the five causes of actions.—
Jeff McDonald,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
9 Apr. 2026
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Such rights obviously do not include summary execution at sea.—
Mary Ellen O'Connell,
The Conversation,
4 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Monosyllabic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/monosyllabic. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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