dissonance

American  

[dis-uh-nuhns] / ˈdɪs ə nəns /

noun

• dissonances
  plural

1. 

   inharmonious or harsh sound; discord; cacophony.

2. Music.

   1. a simultaneous combination of tones conventionally accepted as being in a state of unrest and needing completion.

   2. an unresolved, discordant chord or interval.

3. disagreement or incongruity.

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dissonance British  

/ ˈdɪsənəns /

noun

1. a discordant combination of sounds

2. lack of agreement or consistency

3. music

   1. a sensation commonly associated with all intervals of the second and seventh, all diminished and augmented intervals, and all chords based on these intervals Compare consonance

   2. an interval or chord of this kind

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Usage

What does dissonance mean? Dissonance is harsh, inharmonious noise—cacophony. It can also refer to stark disagreement or lack of consistency. In both cases, a close synonym is discord. In the context of music, the word dissonance is used in a specific way to refer to a combination of sounds thought to be inharmonious (often ones intentionally composed to be so). It can also refer to a chord or interval that features such disharmony. In music and in general, dissonance is the opposite of consonance, which means harmony, agreement, or accord. In psychology, the term cognitive dissonance refers to the unease a person feels when they have two or more contradictory or incompatible beliefs. An adjective form of dissonance is dissonant. Example: Leaders in both factions of the party promised harmony, but so far there has been nothing but dissonance and constant arguing.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• dissonances
  plural

Etymology

Origin of dissonance

1565–75; < Late Latin dissonantia, equivalent to disson- ( see dissonant) + -antia -ance

Explanation

Disagreeable sounds can be called dissonance. You know it's dissonance if you have the strong desire to cover your ears with your hands. Racket, noise, dissonance — all can describe sounds that are not pleasant. While some musicians purposely add a little dissonance into their melodies to create an unexpected sound, others, like someone who just started drum lessons, creates dissonance by accident. Dissonance can also be a conflict between people or opinions, like the dissonance you feel when you want to do something but your parents say "no."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dissonance dissonances

But one doesn’t have to be near the desert to hear the dissonance.

From Salon ● Sep. 21, 2026

The overall picture is one of serious cognitive dissonance.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026

That dissonance is a big part of why “Ice Princess” holds up today.

From Salon ● Aug. 18, 2026

The cognitive dissonance contributed to the thickness in the air that week.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026

This was the second time tonight she had been surprised by the stark dissonance between a face and a mind.

From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor

The man who created “The Rite of Spring”—a ballet whose pounding dissonances and unconventional rhythms caused pandemonium at its 1913 Paris premiere—now insisted that the bolder the creative ambition, the tighter the frame must be.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 11, 2026

Although León’s language is different from decade to decade, her ear for slightly bent phrases in the early works can help prepare a listener for the way she later learned to make starker dissonances dance.

From New York Times ● Jul. 28, 2022

To be an immigrant is to live in a fractured multiverse, one riven with geographic, temporal and psychical dissonances.

From Washington Post ● May 4, 2022

Everything about it, from the spare, enveloping details of Grant Major’s production design to the nerve-shredding dissonances of Jonny Greenwood’s score, directs our focus inward.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 8, 2022

In some modern music, many of these dissonances are heard as pleasant or interesting or jazzy and don't need to be resolved.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones

Related Words

• discord
• discrepancy
• disparity
• dissension
• incongruity