consonance

[ kon-suh-nuhns ]

noun

1. accord or agreement.

   Synonyms: correspondence, harmony, concord

   Antonyms: dissonance

2. correspondence of sounds; harmony of sounds.
3. Music. a simultaneous combination of tones conventionally accepted as being in a state of repose. Compare dissonance ( def 2 ).
4. Prosody.
   1. the correspondence of consonants, especially those at the end of a word, in a passage of prose or verse. Compare alliteration ( def 1 ).
   2. the use of the repetition of consonants or consonant patterns as a rhyming device.
5. Physics. the property of two sounds the frequencies of which have a ratio equal to a small whole number.

consonance

/ ˈkɒnsənəns /

noun

1. agreement, harmony, or accord
2. prosody similarity between consonants, but not between vowels, as between the s and t sounds in sweet silent thought Compare assonance
3. music
   1. an aesthetically pleasing sensation or perception associated with the interval of the octave, the perfect fourth and fifth, the major and minor third and sixth, and chords based on these intervals Compare dissonance
   2. an interval or chord producing this sensation

Other Words From

• non·conso·nance noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of consonance¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin consonantia “concord,” from consonant- (stem of consonāns “sounding together”; consonant ) + -ia -y

Example Sentences

According to the Ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras, 'consonance' -- a pleasant-sounding combination of notes -- is produced by special relationships between simple numbers such as 3 and 4.

From Science Daily

"When we use instruments like the bonang, Pythagoras's special numbers go out the window and we encounter entirely new patterns of consonance and dissonance," Dr Harrison said.

From Science Daily

Eilish cautions against reading any song as autobiographical, but this song — about being widely seen yet deeply lost and misunderstood — has consonance.

From Los Angeles Times

Saudi Arabia invited India to the two-day meeting in Jeddah and its “participation is in consonance with our long-standing position that dialogue and diplomacy is the way forward,” Arindam Bagchi, the spokesman for India’s External Affairs Ministry, told reporters in New Delhi on Thursday.

From Seattle Times

Also, within avant jazz I tend to prefer vocals that lean more toward consonance, and so I admire the singers’ experimentation with sound, syllable and melody all while keeping a steady structure and never sounding stale, creating a soothing element to a lilting frenetic undercurrent of horns and percussion.

From New York Times

Related Words

• conformity