descants 1 of 2

present tense third-person singular of descant
1
as in lectures
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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2
as in chants
to produce musical sounds with the voice the world-famous soprano descanted above the melody line

Synonyms & Similar Words

descants

2 of 2

noun

variants also discants
plural of descant

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for descants
Verb
  • Often, the pincher is in the company of an elder who lectures to her.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Professors structure lectures with an awareness of how a sentence might circulate online.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Eurylochus chants this on the seas after the crew leaves the island of the sun god’s cattle.
    — Wisdom Iheanyichukwu, Vanity Fair, 17 Aug. 2026
  • The ballroom at the Westin Perimeter North is packed with people sporadically breaking out in Rick Jackson chants from time to time.
    — Zachary Bynum, CBS News, 16 June 2026
Noun
  • In the pre-choruses, the chords and background vocals fill the spaces around Swift’s fragmented, stop-start lead vocal, creating an infectious call-and-response flow.
    — David Penn, Billboard, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Breaking Benjamin As pounding as any heavy metal band, this Pennsylvania group hammers its way to surprisingly melodic choruses.
    — Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 30 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • The script is full of pungent, funny debates about power, with observations that still land.
    — Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 23 Oct. 2026
  • As a result, Stiltz’s observations lean toward glib rather than casually profound.
    — Harry Thorfinn-George, Pitchfork, 22 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • No Israeli political leader, even in the opposition, speaks anymore about ending Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank.
    — Dalia Dassa Kaye, Foreign Affairs, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Gow and Banbury are now pals, and Wishart speaks to them frequently, with the pair appearing on Q&A panels around the country to support the movie.
    — Max Goldbart, Deadline, 27 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • The stars of the show are the thousands of bulbs that pulse to music and a clown that sings along to songs.
    — Patrick Connolly, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Back in September, Muna announced that McPherson, who plays guitar, synths, and sings in the band, would need to miss several tour dates to look after their mother, Harriet, who was in the terminal stages of a cancer battle.
    — Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 20 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • If Rae had said no, Costanzo said the company might have sought a young singer or as a last resort cut the character's four arias and one duet, leaving only Aspasia's recitative.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 10 Sep. 2026
  • The opera contains five arias, and Baby Doe sings three big duets all set to a uniquely American melodies.
    — Libby Smith, CBS News, 14 July 2026
Noun
  • Slotkin released a video and a statement responding to the president following his remarks, daring the administration to come after her.
    — Kaelan Deese, The Washington Examiner, 22 Oct. 2026
  • His remarks stand in contrast to those from the head of the US Development Finance Corporation, who told Semafor last month that Washington was, at least in the tech arena, looking to expand infrastructure aligned with the US.
    — Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 21 Oct. 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Cite this Entry

“Descants.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/descants. Accessed 29 Oct. 2026.

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