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monotonal

monotonal

1 7.3
A voice or sound that stays in the same pitch without change
  • adjective
  • /ˌmɒnəˈtoʊnəl/
: monótono
  • His monotonal speech lacked the enthusiasm needed to engage the audience.

Examples

  • Her voice was staccato, yet strangely monotonal.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • She was nodding her head slightly and grunting, making a sound that resembled "uh-huh"—like some sort of relentless, monotonal benediction.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • The teacher's lecture was so monotonal that I struggled to stay awake.

  • The singer's monotonal delivery made it hard to appreciate the lyrics.

Synonyms

monotone
vsmonotonal
5 5.8

Said or sung in the same tone without change

is defined by having only one static pitch throughout
monotonous
vsmonotonal
1 5.3

A voice or sound that stays on one tone and does not change

focuses purely on single pitch rather than dullness or repetition
toneless
vsmonotonal
1 6.3

A flat voice that shows no emotion

refers specifically to single pitch rather than low emotion
monotonic
vsmonotonal
1 8.1

A voice that keeps the same pitch and tone

is about using only one pitch across sound
inflectionless
vsmonotonal
1 7.9

Said in a flat, boring voice with no rise or fall

highlights absence of pitch variation more than lack of emphasis

Antonyms

varied
71 3.3

Containing many different kinds, not all the same

multitoned
1 4.7

Having more than one color, tone, or sound

How Varied

varied
71 3.3
expressive
39 3.4
monotonal
1 7.3

Surface Forms

monotonal positive

Morphology

monotonal = tonal (transparent) = mono + tone + al

The meaning is directly compositional: 'mono-' means one and 'tonal' means relating to tone, so the sense 'having only one tone or pitch' is easy to infer.

Etymology

Monotonal comes from the parts mono- meaning 'one' and tone meaning 'sound' or 'pitch', the same mono- you see in monologue. So a monotonal voice or music uses only one pitch and does not change in sound.