discord
Americannoun
-
discords
plural
-
lack of concord or harmony between persons or things.
marital discord.
- Synonyms:
- contention, argument, antagonism, controversy, struggle, conflict
-
disagreement; difference of opinion.
- Synonyms:
- contention, argument, antagonism, controversy, struggle, conflict
-
strife; dispute; war.
- Synonyms:
- contention, argument, antagonism, controversy, struggle, conflict
-
Music. an inharmonious combination of musical tones sounded together.
-
any confused or harsh noise; dissonance.
verb (used without object)
-
discords,
present (3rd person singular)
-
discorded,
past participle, past
-
discording
present participle
noun
-
lack of agreement of harmony; strife
-
harsh confused mingling of sounds
-
a combination of musical notes containing one or more dissonant intervals See dissonance concord
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
discordsimple
-
discordssimple
-
have discordedperfect
-
has discordedperfect
-
am discordingprogressive
-
are discordingprogressive
-
is discordingprogressive
-
have been discordingperfect progressive
-
has been discordingperfect progressive
Past
-
discordedsimple
-
had discordedperfect
-
was discordingprogressive
-
were discordingprogressive
-
had been discordingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of discord
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English noun descorde, discorde, from Anglo-French, Old French descort, descorde, from Latin discordia, derivative of discord-, stem of discors “discordant,” from dis- dis- 1 + cord-, stem of cors “heart”
Explanation
Discord is the strife and tension that arises when two sides disagree on something, like the high-pitched screaming of two kids fighting over the front seat of the car. Discord can be broken down into the prefix dis, meaning "different," and cord, which stems from an old word for "heart." So that leaves us with "different hearts." So if we're talking about music, discord means a lack of harmony — tones that clash so badly your ears bleed. But when there's discord between people, their hearts are in different places — which usually results in more than a few raised voices clashing disharmoniously.
Vocabulary lists containing discord
Figurative Language in King's "I Have a Dream" Speech (1963)
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" Speech (1963)
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Body Language: Cor, Cord, Cardio ("Heart")
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The manifesto intensified the discord atop Two Sigma, which by 2023 reached a boiling point.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026
The internal discord at “60 Minutes” followed a highly successful season where its ratings increased by 9% according to Nielsen.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
"We need to work together to address issues like conflict, instability, governance failures, poverty and social discord."
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
It's a sense of discord that Britain's new prime minister, Andy Burnham, seems to recognise.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
Such is His mystery: that beauty requires contrast, and that discord is fundamental to the creation of new intensities of feeling.
From "Grendel" by John Gardner
The musical still dwells on their intergenerational and intersectional discords — albeit this time with upbeat numbers, disco balls and dance breaks in the multipurpose room of their local Jewish Community Center.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 31, 2023
Do you arbitrate these touchy discords between cohabitants on a frequent basis?
From Washington Post ● Feb. 18, 2020
Author Christopher Caldwell traces the origins of today’s deep discords to President John F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1963.
From Washington Times ● Jan. 24, 2020
Rather worryingly, musically speaking, the queasiest stuff – the discords and the lurching, seasick strings – are reserved for the obsessive music fan, rather than, say, the murderer.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 13, 2010
They used harmony as an additional layer of subtlety and effect, even by using discords to intensify the meaning of texts conveying suffering, loss or anguish.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
And on her side gentle thoughts and simple pleasures were odious to Mrs. Becky; they discorded with her; she hated people for liking them; she spurned children and children-lovers.
From Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
Nay, the monster had a certain key of style, or want of style, so that certain milder passages, which I sought to introduce, discorded horribly and impoverished, if that were possible, the general effect.
From The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 13 (of 25) by Robert Louis Stevenson
Mrs. Pettigrew's screams were almost drowned in the discording crash and crackle of the falling avalanche of crockery.
From The Wouldbegoods by E. (Edith) Nesbit
Thou shalt them ken by their discording notes, Their weeds are plain, such as poor shepherds wear; Unshapen, torn, and ragged are their coats, Yet forth they wand'ring are devoid of fear.
From Elizabethan Sonnet Cycles: Idea, Fidesa and Chloris by Martha Foote Crow
He mixes public and private business, the intricacies of discording life with his religion and devotion.
From The Works of Charles and Mary Lamb — Volume 5 The Letters of Charles and Mary Lamb, 1796-1820 by E. V. (Edward Verrall) Lucas
A discording voice and an inordinate troubleth the accord of many voices.
From Mediaeval Lore from Bartholomew Anglicus by Robert Steele
And if rain be evil and distemperate in its qualities, and discording to place and time, it is grievous and noyful to many things.
From Mediaeval Lore from Bartholomew Anglicus by Robert Steele
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
