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
Related Words
2
as in observation
Related 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
Verb
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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Their stories—rooted in resilience, strategy, faith, and fire—speak directly to Black women and girls watching, learning, and preparing to take their place in the lineage of excellence.—
Shelby Stewart,
Essence,
10 July 2025
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The Athletic spoke to several Canadian sports fans, some of them Bills season-ticket holders, who declined to be interviewed over fears their comments could be used against them at the border.—
Tim Graham,
New York Times,
9 July 2025
Verb
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Outside were members of the brand’s unofficial posse, generally dressed in baggy jeans, T-shirts, and hat and headscarf combos, chanted ‘Obligatory’, the show’s name, as VIPs began to filter in while the crowd waited.—
Roxanne Robinson,
Forbes.com,
30 June 2025
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Chan wiped away tears during Sunday’s news conference and chanted slogans with other members at the end.—
Kanis Leung,
Los Angeles Times,
30 June 2025
Noun
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The chorus had several directors over the decades, and was rebranded as the Fox Valley Festival Chorus in 1980.—
Tom Strong,
Chicago Tribune,
13 July 2025
-
Swift then jumps up and down with her arms in the air as the song leads into the chorus and the pair continue to sing along.—
Charlotte Phillipp,
People.com,
12 July 2025
Noun
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Melissa Carter then takes us on a journey through nearly a century of observations from Scripps Pier, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the cutting-edge technologies now used to study marine plankton.—
David L. Coddon,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
10 July 2025
-
The Office of Space Commerce, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has been around since the 1980s as a licensing agency for remote sensing and Earth observation satellites.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
10 July 2025
Verb
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Amy Lieberman, a politics and society editor at The Conversation U.S., spoke with Lincoln Mitchell, a political strategy and campaign specialist who lectures at Columbia University, to understand what Mamdani’s primary win might indicate about the direction of national politics.—
Lincoln Mitchell,
The Conversation,
27 June 2025
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DuVernay presents the inhumanity of the situation without lecturing the audience or patronizing the subjects, instead providing an honest portrait of the fear, hope, and lost time that the Central Park Five experienced as the result of a profoundly broken justice system.—
Wesley Stenzel,
EW.com,
26 June 2025
Verb
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Likewise, its renditions of Elvis hits — in an array of voices, often sung sweetly or comically rather than in the King’s trademark purring growl — make an argument that these are not rock songs but showtunes.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
14 July 2025
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The crowd sang along with the musicians to the 2004 ballad.—
Marina Watts,
People.com,
14 July 2025
Noun
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Latin polyphony and motets are being sung at the Offertory and during the distribution of Holy Communion.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
7 June 2025
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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
Noun
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The executive director of the event, J. Casey Soward, issued a statement in the fallout, apologizing for his remarks.—
Jack Dunn,
Variety,
13 July 2025
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Kendall Washington, a finalist on season 6 of Love Island USA, was subjected to homophobic remarks online, after explicit videos of him were released without his consent.—
Taylor Crumpton,
Time,
13 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Descant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/descant. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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