monologue means A long speech by one person in a play; sometimes a soliloquy; other times spoken to other characters.
monologue is pronounced /ˈmɒnəlɒɡ/.
Why “monologue” is a great word
A long, uninterrupted speech delivered by a single speaker. From French monologue, from Late Greek monologos ("speaking alone"), from monos ("alone, single") + legein ("to speak"), first attested in English in the 1660s. Unlike a soliloquy, which is a private communion of thought for an audience's benefit, or a dialogue, which is the nimble dance of responsive voices, a monologue is a sustained arc of voice that fills a room like heat from a stove. It is the lawyer’s closing argument holding a courtroom in thrall, the desperate explanation spilling unchecked across a kitchen table, or the late-night confession of a stranger on a nearly empty bus—a performance where the only response is the profound silence of the listener, a voice carving meaning from silence by the sheer gravity of speaking without reply.
noun
- A long speech by one person in a play; sometimes a soliloquy; other times spoken to other characters.
- A long series of comic stories and jokes as an entertainment.
- A long, uninterrupted utterance that monopolizes a conversation.
verb
- To deliver a monologue.