descants 1 of 2

Definition of descantsnext
present tense third-person singular of descant
1
as in lectures
to give a formal often extended talk on a subject an English professor who loves to descant on his beloved Shakespeare

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in chants
to produce musical sounds with the voice the world-famous soprano descanted above the melody line

Synonyms & Similar Words

descants

2 of 2

noun

variants also discants
plural of descant

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for descants
Verb
  • The van’s speakers played a high-volume mashup of construction sounds, Jordan Peterson lectures, Marine Corps drills, and mumbling voices.
    Charles Bethea, New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2026
  • Assistive listening studies report that bypassing room acoustics and delivering audio directly can improve signal‑to‑noise ratios by 15–20 dB, making announcements comprehensible and lectures clearer [8].
    IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 26 Feb. 2026
Verb
  • As the crowd chants largely out of sight, heavy automatic gunfire can be heard for 15 uninterrupted seconds.
    Marin Scott, NBC news, 14 Jan. 2026
  • The Barmy Army chants restart as the England players partly walk over to applaud them.
    Tim Spiers, New York Times, 21 Dec. 2025
Noun
  • Zhdanov and his team calculated the depth of this possible reservoir by flying a helicopter that was kitted out with electromagnetic equipment over a section of the of the lake and combined these observations with magnetic measurements to study the structure of the reservoir.
    Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 31 Mar. 2026
  • Here are my observations on the 52-year-old stadium, which could be left behind in favor of a new location in the near future.
    Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 31 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • Wang — who speaks Italian at a B2, or upper intermediate level, and has four great-grandparents from Sicily — had already made an appointment to recognize her citizenship, so hoped she might be treated as a case in progress.
    Julia Buckley, CNN Money, 28 Mar. 2026
  • That these bones were assessed as potentially centuries old speaks to the level of deterioration observed by investigators.
    Ryan Brennan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • Farley sings from a similar vocal register as Isbell.
    Josh Crutchmer, Rolling Stone, 27 Mar. 2026
  • The group sings it really well, and our lead is really very good.
    Caché McClay, USA Today, 27 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • In wide-ranging remarks, Powell acknowledged young graduates were entering a challenging job market.
    Michael Casey, Los Angeles Times, 31 Mar. 2026
  • Zelenskyy’s remarks come as Ukraine deepens its role in the region, sharing intelligence and defense expertise with Middle Eastern partners facing Iranian missile and drone strikes.
    Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 31 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • Trump said in on Truth Social that any attacks on Iran's energy infrastructure will be paused until April 6 and that talks with Iran continue.
    Rebecca Shabad, NBC news, 26 Mar. 2026
  • Williams still talks like a young player at the start of his career.
    Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 26 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • In the face of the insidious chaos of 2026, the band rises to the moment with A Wave That Will Never Break, an ecstatic, devotional album stocked with powerful choruses that reflect on the nature of destruction.
    Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 23 Mar. 2026
  • Presented by the Choral Consortium of San Diego, the festival on Saturday will feature 15 choruses from all over the region, including Baja California.
    Beth Wood, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Mar. 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Cite this Entry

“Descants.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/descants. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.

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