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

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

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

Daboll, who typically mutters his way through monosyllabic answers after games, raved about the character and work ethic of his team Sunday. —Dan Duggan, The Athletic, 29 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

probably from French monosyllabique, from monosyllabe

First Known Use

1635, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for monosyllabic

• polysyllabic
• disyllabic
• syllabic