1
as in to speak
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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variants
also discant
1
as in chorus
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in observation
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of descant
Jesse Green, New York Times, 3 Aug. 2023
Then comes a longer descant of mixed-up work, including bad versions of pop tunes and ambitious attempts at pop epics.
—Adam Gopni, The New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2021
For seven decades, Katz has been providing a visual descant to the work of the New York School of poets, many of whom were his friends.
—Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 29 Oct. 2022
Birds provided an intermittent descant to the insect buzz and the drone of a distant tractor.
—Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 2 Oct. 2022
The Hynde storyline, which includes her messing around with songs on an acoustic guitar, runs as a kind of descant against the personal and professional noise of the Pistols.
—Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 31 May 2022
This is a dark and defensive descant to a more substantial and necessary conversation about whiteness in America.
—Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 3 July 2019
Noun
Bart, too idiosyncratic merely to copy the idiosyncrasies of the movie’s Christopher Lloyd, instead adds a descant of commentary atop them, sometimes seeming to extemporize a different show entirely.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 3 Aug. 2023
Then comes a longer descant of mixed-up work, including bad versions of pop tunes and ambitious attempts at pop epics.
—Adam Gopni, The New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2021
For seven decades, Katz has been providing a visual descant to the work of the New York School of poets, many of whom were his friends.
—Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 29 Oct. 2022
Birds provided an intermittent descant to the insect buzz and the drone of a distant tractor.
—Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 2 Oct. 2022
The Hynde storyline, which includes her messing around with songs on an acoustic guitar, runs as a kind of descant against the personal and professional noise of the Pistols.
—Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 31 May 2022
This is a dark and defensive descant to a more substantial and necessary conversation about whiteness in America.
—Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 3 July 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for descant
Verb
-
Trump will reportedly speak with President Xi Jinping this week, signaling the intent to avoid a broader tariff war between the world’s top two economies.—
Amala Balakrishner,
CNBC,
4 Feb. 2025
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All three department employees who spoke with ABC News also confirmed the only DEI-like program that would potentially be barred under Trump's executive order would be the change-agent training sessions.—
Arthur Jones II,
ABC News,
3 Feb. 2025
Verb
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State of play: Students walked out of their classes and crowded the plaza outside the capitol, crying, chanting and screaming as the lawmakers inside started work on the special session.—
Adam Tamburin,
Axios,
28 Jan. 2025
-
Gaza residents posted videos on social media of impromptu celebrations, with crowds of men beating drums and chanting nationalist songs.—
Nabih Bulos,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Jan. 2025
Noun
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The Herald spoke to 16 buyers — many did not want their names published, fearing retaliation by Cox — and examined lawsuits, mortgages, purchase agreements, property records and Miami building department reports, which substantiated buyers’ chorus of complaints.—
Linda Robertson,
Miami Herald,
26 Jan. 2025
-
In terms of the performance, the descending part at the end of the chorus is memorable.—
Billboard Japan,
Billboard,
25 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Jacobs-Jenkins’ astute observations of White American life from his perspective as a Black playwright are fresh and illuminating.—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
31 Jan. 2025
-
The highest ranking an asteroid has ever reached on the scale is four, briefly achieved by asteroid Apophis in 2004 before further observations downgraded it back to zero.—
Margherita Bassi,
Smithsonian Magazine,
31 Jan. 2025
Verb
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On one occasion, Aldous Huxley lectured on the lurid life of the Renaissance visionary Carlo Gesualdo.—
Alex Ross,
The New Yorker,
27 Jan. 2025
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Marcy Thompson: The couple moved to Berlin, where Rudolf was invited to lecture for the German Social Democratic Party.—
Marcy Thompson,
Scientific American,
23 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Instead, read your child a story or sing lullabies.—
Barbara A. Perry,
Newsweek,
28 Jan. 2025
-
Researchers determined the entertainer was male, as only males sing.—
Paloma Chavez,
Sacramento Bee,
28 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Her husband, my grandfather, was not only a composer who wrote liturgical music, motets, symphonies, and string quartets but also a beloved music teacher who believed that music was as crucial to the development of the mind as math.—
Stephanie H. Murray,
The Atlantic,
18 Dec. 2024
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Repetition with fidelity led, with the aid of print, to longer organized forms such as the motet, a vocal music composition, and the conductus, a Latin song with a rhythmic structure.—
Lynn Whidden,
Scientific American,
26 July 2024
Noun
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That includes a July 2023 Trump rally in Pickens — in the county where Graham grew up — where objections from the crowd drowned out more than five minutes of his remarks.—
Meg Kinnard,
Chicago Tribune,
25 Jan. 2025
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In floor remarks Saturday morning, Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer ripped into the Trump administration for the move, saying that the dismissals are a possible violation of federal law.—
Katherine Faulders,
ABC News,
25 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near descant
Cite this Entry
“Descant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/descant. Accessed 9 Feb. 2025.
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