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
-
The billionaire South African businessman, Johann Rupert, spoke forcefully too.—
Jonny Steinberg,
Time,
22 May 2025
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Last year for Mother's Day, Parker spoke with PEOPLE about motherhood and shared that becoming a parent has been one of the greatest gifts she's received.—
Hannah Sacks,
People.com,
22 May 2025
Verb
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Fans chanted his name during the ninth inning of his shutout.—
Cody Stavenhagen,
New York Times,
29 May 2025
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Inside the building, chants to fire the team's president of basketball operations, Nico Harrison, reached a deafening decibel.—
Bobby Krivitsky,
Forbes.com,
29 May 2025
Noun
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The recent bond-market struggles are being treated by a growing chorus of investment professionals as an ominous message about the unreliability of once-safe assets, the obsolescence of the balanced stock-bond portfolio and the need for new sources of diversification.—
Michael Santoli,
CNBC,
26 May 2025
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The voices of the opera’s chorus are being provided by a choir which John conducts, the Pacific Coast Chorale, supplemented by two onstage choristers.—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
25 May 2025
Noun
-
Before the Bears return to the field for another round of OTAs next week, here are five observations.—
Dan Wiederer,
Chicago Tribune,
23 May 2025
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But statistician Abraham Wald made a critical observation: those planes survived.—
Faizan Mustafa,
Forbes.com,
23 May 2025
Verb
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These days, nothing infuriates liberals more than to be lectured about the American plutocracy — not when Trump is perhaps the most brazenly corrupt president to hold the office in modern history.—
Alexander Heffner,
Chicago Tribune,
29 May 2025
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Maybe Healey can lecture them on how to sue Trump a hundred times and bankrupt a state on migrant hotel shelters.—
Joe Battenfeld,
Boston Herald,
27 May 2025
Verb
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Yates declined to comment further, but instead sang Mills’s praises.—
Lawrence Burney,
Pitchfork,
28 May 2025
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Her father had been a high school band director before becoming associate superintendent of the Fresno school district, and her mother, an administrator at California State University, sang in the church choir.—
Charlotte Alter,
Time,
28 May 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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Less than 24 hours later, his remarks reached the walls of President Donald Trump’s Justice Department, triggering an investigation into City Hall’s hiring practices.—
Alice Yin,
Chicago Tribune,
25 May 2025
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Fed up with the negativity, Hunter took to a Twitch stream to openly express his frustration and share how deeply the hurtful remarks have affected him.—
Ricardo Klein,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Descant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/descant. Accessed 5 Jun. 2025.
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