cacophonous
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- cacophonously adverb
- uncacophonous adjective
Etymology
Origin of cacophonous
From the Greek word kakóphōnos, dating back to 1790–1800. See caco-, -phone, -ous
Explanation
The adjective cacophonous describes loud, harsh sounds, like the cacophonous racket your brother and his band mates make while trying to learn how to play their instruments. To correctly pronounce cacophonous, accent the second syllable: "cuh-CAW-fuh-nus." It is related to the Greek words kakos, meaning "bad, evil," and phone, or "voice." You may feel like you're facing something evil if you’re bombarded by the cacophonous sounds of, say, political pundits yelling at one another, or the chaotic sounds of traffic and voices on a busy urban street. Cacophonous is the opposite of harmonious.
Vocabulary lists containing cacophonous
100 SAT words Beginning with "C"
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Turn It Up! Synonyms for "Loud"
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Paper Towns
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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.
Yet, the film remains seductive despite its near-constant cacophonous antagonism.
From Salon • Nov. 7, 2025
A cacophonous, wraparound self-portrait more than 40 feet tall by 70 feet long, it’s not just a visual assault, it’s too massive to be experienced in its setting.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 29, 2025
In my little corner of Silver Lake, 7 p.m. commenced a daily cacophonous communal concert of pots and pans banging, trombones and trumpets blaring, dogs and coyotes howling: a grateful group roar.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 24, 2025
This has brought more traffic and given the city a cacophonous soundtrack of honking horns.
From BBC • Mar. 15, 2025
The combined sound of bells tolling and sirens wailing seemed not just a cacophonous way to ring in the new year, but a sound that symbolized a new era in our freedom struggle.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Definitions 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.
