cacophony

American  

[kuh-kof-uh-nee] / kəˈkɒf ə ni /

noun

plural

cacophonies

1. harsh or unpleasant discordance of sound; dissonance.

   After living in the country, it's difficult for me to adjust to the cacophony produced by city traffic.

2. a discordant and meaningless mixture of sounds.

   The sound effects included a cacophony of hoots, cackles, and wails.

3. Music. frequent use of harsh, discordant notes or chords that seem to be patternless and without connection to each other.

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cacophony British  

/ kəˈkɒfənɪ /

noun

1. harsh discordant sound; dissonance

2. the use of unharmonious or dissonant speech sounds in language

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Other Word Forms

• cacophonic adjective

Etymology

Origin of cacophony

First recorded in 1650–60; from New Latin cacophonia, from Greek kakophōnía; equivalent to caco- + -phony

Related Words

• noise