monosyllabic

adjective

mono·​syl·​lab·​ic ˌmä-nə-sə-ˈla-bik 

1

: consisting of one syllable or of monosyllables

2

: using or speaking only monosyllables

3

: conspicuously brief in answering or commenting : terse

monosyllabically

ˌmä-nə-sə-ˈla-bi-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

monosyllabicity

ˌmä-nə-ˌsi-lə-ˈbi-sə-tē 

noun

Synonyms

• aphoristic
• apothegmatic
• brief
• capsule
• compact
• compendious
• concise
• crisp
• curt
• elliptical
• elliptic
• epigrammatic
• laconic
• pithy
• sententious
• succinct
• summary
• telegraphic
• terse
• thumbnail

Examples of monosyllabic in a Sentence

The movie star was monosyllabic with newspaper reporters.

the sullen teenager would give only a monosyllabic response to even the friendliest question

Recent Examples on the Web

Verstappen was subsequently punished for using the F-word to describe Red Bull’s performances and reacted to his ban by delivering monosyllabic answers during FIA press conferences over the weekend. —Dan Cancian, Forbes, 30 Sep. 2024

First appearing in 1950, in the original run of Charles M. Schulz's Peanuts comic strip, Snoopy is the relaxed, lovable, adventurous, and monosyllabic dog of Sally and Charlie Brown. —Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 18 Sep. 2024

Furthermore, the crushes in my life were street-smart, grittier boys who probably never had a car, lived in a house, or had monosyllabic names. —Elana Rabinowitz, Baltimore Sun, 1 July 2024

Russia’s greatest living composers had never met before, and conversation was monosyllabic. —Norman Lebrecht, WSJ, 29 Dec. 2023

Word History

Etymology

probably from French monosyllabique, from monosyllabe

First Known Use

1635, in the meaning defined at sense 2