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
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Jeff Peterson took his place on the dais inside Spectrum Center, quickly settling in before speaking publicly for the first time since September.—
Roderick Boone,
Charlotte Observer,
14 Apr. 2025
-
This time, Mary looked famine-struck and spoke mostly in pained moans.—
Sarah Stillman,
New Yorker,
14 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Fronted by the Swiss Guard, cardinals and other church leaders led the slow procession into the sunlit esplanade as a male choir chanted psalms and prayers in Latin and the great bells of the basilica tolled.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
23 Apr. 2025
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All of this is accompanied by a throbbing, repetitive, and mind-blanking score by Philip Glass that's heavy on brass, synthesizers, and basso profundo chanting.—
Boutayna Chokrane,
Wired News,
22 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Anna Barclay | Getty Images News | Getty Images Oil giant BP is bracing itself for a shareholder backlash at its annual general meeting (AGM) on Thursday, with a chorus of disgruntled investors planning to voice their concerns over the firm’s green strategy U-turn.—
Sam Meredith,
CNBC,
17 Apr. 2025
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An orchestra, a chorus, a jazz big band, a marching band—these are complex macroorganisms whose inner workings require formidable feats of interactive precision, all of which depend on information encoded in a written score.—
Matthew Aucoin,
The Atlantic,
15 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The work relied on the seismometer network’s observations of more than 200 earthquakes, each of which produced multiple types of seismic waves.—
Meghan Bartels,
Scientific American,
17 Apr. 2025
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One option is to conduct observations at submillimeter radio wavelengths, which is the next waveband up from far-infrared.—
Keith Cooper,
Space.com,
17 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Conor Heffernan, who lectures on the history of sports and fitness at Ulster University, in Ireland, said the current vogue for biohacking, and its protein boosterism, reeks of snake oil.—
Hannah Goldfield,
New Yorker,
21 Apr. 2025
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Her quotidian life was lecturing at a college in Aberdeen, close to where she was born, and the travel and mountaineering a teacher’s schedule enables.—
Sadie Stein,
New York Times,
6 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Multiple derms sang this serum’s praises, pointing to its hyaluronic acid base.—
Rebecca Shinners,
Glamour,
22 Apr. 2025
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Two key figures go down in the caves and are able to converse (and sing) with Floyd: his brother Homer (Jason Gotay) and Skeets Miller (Taylor Trensch), a reporter sent to cover the story.—
Christian Lewis,
Variety,
22 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The service and concert will take place at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 5, at the church, 815 S. Washington St. Castle Singers are vocalists who perform a variety of chamber repertoire, varying from Renaissance madrigals and motets to contemporary pop and vocal jazz.—
Aurora Beacon-News,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Mar. 2025
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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
Noun
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And North’s remark and Goodell’s comment about playing a game in Asia shows the league seems open to sending teams nearly anywhere. ‘Mini Super Bowl’ North said planning for international games begins years in advance.—
Pete Grathoff,
Kansas City Star,
18 Apr. 2025
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The remarks prompted a steep drop in securities markets.—
Elizabeth Crisp,
The Hill,
18 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Descant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/descant. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.
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