Monocular

//məˈnɑkjələɹ// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A monocle. rare

    "The moony monocular set in his eye / Appeared to be scanning the Sweet Bye-and-Bye."

  2. 2
    A monocular telescope, as opposed to binoculars. retronym

    "Monoculars are designed to fit discreetly in the hand, improving their cosmetic appearance. Most monoculars sold today have one primary optical difference from binoculars: the ability to focus at close range. These are known as short-focus telescopes."

Adjective
  1. 1
    Having one eye. not-comparable

    "...one of his sparks alighted upon my eye and destroyed it making me a monocular ape;"

  2. 2
    Related to a monocle. not-comparable

    "You are not such a foolish woman as to like to be seen with Fred Mostyn, that little monocular snob, after the aristocratic, handsome Basil Stanhope."

  3. 3
    Of any optical system suitable for use by one eye at a time. not-comparable

Synonyms

All synonyms
bug eyedcockeyedpopeyeduniocularuniocular

Example

More examples

"The pirate was observing the sea with his monocular."

Etymology

From mono- + ocular.

Related phrases

monocular O

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.