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monotonal

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

monotonous

vsmonotonal

4 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

monotone

vsmonotonal

2 5.8

Said or sung in the same tone without change

is defined by having only one static pitch throughout

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

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

54 3.3

Containing many different kinds, not all the same

multitoned

4.7

Having more than one color, tone, or sound

How Varied

varied

54 3.3

expressive

41 3.4

monotonal

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.