monotone

/ˈmɒn.ə.təʊn/

//ˈmɒn.ə.təʊn// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"monotone" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“monotone” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #38,504. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#38,504
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Having a single unvaried pitch.

Corpus desk

Index EN-monotone · monotone · English

monotone · rank #38,504 · 11 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #38,504
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH monstrosity

Nearest frequency peer: monstrosity (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “monotone”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “monotone” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

monotone vs monotony
88% similar
monotone vs moonstone
78% similar
monotone vs Moncton
63% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for monotone
PropertyValue
Headwordmonotone
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈmɒn.ə.təʊn/
Letters8
Frequency rank#38,504
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “monotone”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).monotonelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “monstrosity” (#38,505), “Mordecai” (#38,506), “mightily” (#38,501). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “monotone” is #38,504. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around monotone (IPA /ˈmɒn.ə.təʊn/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #38,504 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for monotone, with forms such as "mmonotone", "mnootone", and "monnotone". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "monotony", "moonstone", "Moncton", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From the post-Classical Latin monotonus (“unvarying in tone”) or its etymon the Ancient Greek μονότονος (monótonos, “steady”, “unwavering”); compare cognate adjectives, namely the French monotone, the German monoton, the Italian monotono, and the Spanish mo… The correct English form is monotone, spelled M-O-N-O-T-O-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Having a single unvaried pitch.
  2. 2
    Of a function: that is always nonincreasing or nondecreasing on an interval.
  3. 3
    Synonym of monochrome.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how monotone appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The prominence of the syllables is more monotone than in English, the intonation of the latter having a larger variation of stressed and unstressed syllables.
  2. In the formal register, such variation is reduced and the talk has a more monotone, business-like quality.

Etymology

From the post-Classical Latin monotonus (“unvarying in tone”) or its etymon the Ancient Greek μονότονος (monótonos, “steady”, “unwavering”); compare cognate adjectives, namely the French monotone, the German monoton, the Italian monotono, and the Spanish monótono, as well as the slightly earlier English noun monotony and adjective monotonical.

This word in other languages

monótono(Español)monotone(Français)monoton(Deutsch)monótono(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • mmonotone
  • mnootone
  • monnotone
  • monootne
  • monotnoe
  • monotoen
  • monotonne
  • monottone
  • montoone
  • moontone
  • omnotone

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of monotone - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

mmonotone1mnootone2monnotone1monootne2monotnoe2monotoen2monotonne1monottone1
Edit distance from "monotone"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "monotone"?
"monotone" is spelled M-O-N-O-T-O-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmɒn.ə.təʊn/.
What does "monotone" mean?
As an adjective, "monotone" means: Having a single unvaried pitch.
What words are commonly confused with "monotone"?
"monotone" is commonly confused with "monotony", "moonstone", "Moncton". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "monotone"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "monotone" is /ˈmɒn.ə.təʊn/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "monotone"?
From the post-Classical Latin monotonus (“unvarying in tone”) or its etymon the Ancient Greek μονότονος (monótonos, “steady”, “unwavering”); compare cognate adjectives, namely the French monotone, the German monoton, the Italian monotono, and the ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "monotone", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Mordecai#38,506mightily#38,501meniscus#38,498megatron#38,495

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

menthol11 variantsnostril11 variantsmagnify11 variantsLlewellyn11 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list