Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Verse characterized by mechanical regularity of rhythm and rhyme.
- n. A monotonously rising and falling inflection of the voice.
- adj. Monotonous in vocal inflection or rhythm.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Making songs, rimes, or inferior poetry.
- Monotonously rhythmical in cadence and time; chanting.
- n. Verse intended or suitable for singing; a ballad; hence, bad verse; mere rime rather than poetry.
- n. A monotonous rhythmical cadence, sound, or tone; a wearying uniformity in the rising and falling inflections of the voice, especially in speaking.
- n. A convivial meeting, at which every person is expected to contribute a song.
- To make songs or verses; also, to make singsong sounds; utter a monotonous chant.
- To express or utter in singsong.
Wiktionary
- adj. Like a piece of singsong; simple and melodic, varying in pitch (of tone of voice etc.)
- n. A piece of verse with a simple, song-like rhythm.
- n. An informal gathering at which songs are sung; a singing session.
- v. To utter in a singsong voice.
- v. obsolete To write poor poetry.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. Bad singing or poetry.
- n. A drawling or monotonous tone, as of a badly executed song.
- adj. Drawling; monotonous; having a monotonous cadence.
- v. rare To write poor poetry.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a regular and monotonous rising and falling intonation
- n. informal group singing of popular songs
- v. move as if accompanied by a singsong
- adj. uttered in a monotonous cadence or rhythm as in chanting
- v. speak, chant, or declaim in a singsong
Etymologies
- sing + song. (Wiktionary)
Examples
“I also fluff thier pillow and read them their favorite jihad passages from the Koran, in singsong fashion.”
“And for all her grandmotherly warmth, Pelosi's peppy bursts of enthusiasm and penchant for speaking in singsong phrases — "We've gotta win, not whine!" — make her come across like a cheerfully energetic PTA mom rather than a party leader capable of swaying national opinion.”
“As Stephanopoulos himself cozily recalls, his War Room buddy James Carville screamed in singsong when they scored a press hit on a political opponent (in language that would be unimaginable in Myers’s PG-rated book): “He’s going to have a clus-ter-fuck; he’s going to have a clus-ter-fuck.””
“Have dinner with Husband’s high school friend; afterwards, tease Husband unmercifully, repeating “you liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiike her” in singsong tones until he stops speaking to me.”
“A woman's powerful voice called a singsong phrase, and the children replied in a penetrating chorus, punctuating each phrase with unison claps.”
“There was some kind of singsong festival going on there, most likely prayers for rain.”
“Her name was Gwenda, and they were both Welsh, so they had this kind of singsong accent, which made it all the more inviting.”
“About 20 children sit or squat on the carpets and, in Arabic and their Kurdish dialect, recite by rote in a kind of singsong chant the prayers and poems of their religion, praising God and the seven angels.”
“The vizier's voice sank low, vibrating through the room in a kind of singsong rhythm that grew more pronounced as her tale continued.”
“She had wrapped her arms about herself and was trembling like a naiga spore in a strong wind, moaning in a kind of singsong rhythm.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘singsong’.
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Killjoy et al
Namely, compounds consisting of a verb with a direct object immediately after it, without inflection
killjoy, lickspigot, quakebuttock, throttlebottom, scattergood, scapegrace, swillbowl, tosspot, breakfast, cutthroat, pickpocket, dreadnought and 84 more...
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Time for a new list!
abrupt, erupt, rupture, sync, appropinquity, heterochromia, homochromatic, monochromatic, willy nilly, nitty gritty, kowtow, wonton and 455 more...
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They Roll Off The Tongue
Words that are just fun to say. Entirely subjective, but I like 'em regardless. A complement to the list They Stumble Off The Tongue.
verisimilitude, parsimonious, soliloquy, insipid, ontological, plentifully, je ne sais quoi, misanthropic, bourgeoisie, parallelable, inclemency, frigidity and 159 more...
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persnickety parlance
behoove, ebullient, insouciant, insipient, froth, quandary, quixotic, tendril, maktub, furrow, furl, anastrophe and 1076 more...
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mkuo's Words
sigh, chum, clandestine, behemoth, paramour, leviathan, dollop, wastrel, pedantic, hankering, warble, lope and 317 more...
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Tickle My Ears!
Words used to describe one's voice.
low, high-pitched, deep, booming, lilting, whispery, hoarse, raspy, throaty, angelic, male, female and 38 more...
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Words I Got Wrong on FreeRice
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wordmania's Words
Tweets
Looking for tweets for singsong.
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