dissonant

[ dis-uh-nuhnt ]

adjective

1. disagreeing or harsh in sound; discordant.
2. out of harmony; incongruous; at variance.

   Synonyms: inconsistent, incongruent, incompatible

3. Music. characterized by dissonance.

dissonant

/ ˈdɪsənənt /

adjective

1. discordant; cacophonous
2. incongruous or discrepant
3. music characterized by dissonance

Derived Forms

• ˈdissonantly, adverb

Other Words From

• disso·nant·ly adverb
• un·disso·nant adjective
• un·disso·nant·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of dissonant¹

1400–50; late Middle English dissonaunte (< Anglo-French ) < Latin dissonant- (stem of dissonāns, present participle of dissonāre to sound harsh), equivalent to disson- (derivative of dissonus discordant; dis- ¹, sound ¹ ) + -ant- -ant

Word History and Origins

Origin of dissonant¹

C15: from Latin dissonāre to be discordant, from dis- ¹+ sonāre to sound

Example Sentences

Experts say that the merger strikes a dissonant chord from a branding perspective too.

From BBC

But it’s not the compounding of these tragedies that is most disturbing—it’s the comparatively dissonant responses to those two events many of us in the Jewish community have received from our allies, neighbors, co-workers, and friends.

From Slate

Not striking a chord is perhaps a better-case scenario for an intellectual/experimental opera gone wrong — in 1964, an audience in Florence found the dissonant music of Alois Haba's "Matka" so painful, like someone "spitting out a mouthful of rusty nails," that they began walking out by the end of the first scene.

From Salon

There’s a kind of internet shock humor to it all, an ugly meeting of Stephen Miller’s 19th-century-style racism with Elon Musk’s messageboard racism, plus some dissonant echoes of the heyday of the cat internet in the mid-2000s.

From Slate

There’s a way to do it where it starts dissonant and then moves into harmony.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• differing
• discordant
• incongruous