monosyllabic

Monosyllabic is an adjective used in linguistics and literary analysis to describe a unit of speech that has a single syllable. It can refer to a single-syllable word, such as cat or sun, or to a broader characteristic of a passage or language in which most words or lines are composed of one syllable. The term derives from the Greek monos 'one' and syllabos 'syllable,' via Latin monosyllabicus; its use in English dates from the early modern period.

In English, a monosyllabic word consists of one vowel nucleus with optional surrounding consonants, as in cat, book, or bright. By contrast, disyllabic words have two syllables (tiger, about), and polysyllabic words have three or more (electricity, international). The concept is often used to discuss poetry, prose style, and phonological patterns. Some writers intentionally employ a predominantly monosyllabic diction to create brisk rhythm or blunt emphasis.

There are also contexts in linguistics where a language is described as having predominantly monosyllabic morphemes or lexemes, though most languages mix syllable counts. Monosyllabic also functions as a noun: a monosyllable is a word with one syllable; the term is sometimes extended to describe utterances composed of single-syllable words, though that usage can be less formal.

Examples of monosyllabic words include cat, dog, sun, break, light, and fast. Sentences built from only monosyllabic words are possible, such as The cat sat on the mat.