cacophonous

adjective

ka-ˈkä-fə-nəs How to pronounce cacophonous (audio)
Definition of cacophonousnext
as in shrill
marked by or producing a harsh combination of sounds the cacophonous chaos on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of cacophonous Yet a cacophonous encore is now playing across the South after a Supreme Court ruling last week. — ABC News, 6 May 2026 Tuesday evening’s event didn’t devolve into the chaos of a cacophonous debate last week but was far livelier than a relatively sleepy one last month. — Ben Paviour may 6, Sacbee.com, 6 May 2026 Fabric And Texture Color and pattern aren’t the only visual aspects that can stand between a cohesive look and one that seems like a cacophonous scene. — Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 27 Apr. 2026 In the black and Carrara marble lobby, the vibe is modern and futuristic, with a cacophonous waterfall tumbling down the walls in a stream of fluorescent colors and a lone scarlet grand piano bringing a pleasing pop of color. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for cacophonous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cacophonous
  1. shrill
  2. dissonant
  3. noisy
  4. unpleasant
Adjective
  • On shrill winter nights, Moscow’s power is conspicuous, its Orthodox cathedrals and Stalinist high-rises illuminated, though the view falls dim in the autumn and spring, shrouded in sheets of greige.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 3 Apr. 2026
  • The chaos is still an acceptable price to pay for Birney’s expertly offputting performance, a shrill mania that gets increasingly comic over time.
    — Alison Herman, Variety, 26 Mar. 2026
Definition of shrill
Adjective
  • At the track’s apex Korten explodes in and out of dissonant broken chords against Mark Shim’s angular saxophone lines, an unexpected development that sneaks up on you thanks to Sorey’s sticky, slowly evolving drumming.
    — Rae-Aila Crumble, Pitchfork, 25 June 2026
  • This is reminding me of watching Slint play a reunion show in 2014 under the I-65 highway at a festival in Louisville, and how simultaneously awesome and cognitively dissonant that experience was.
    — Jonathan Cohen, SPIN, 25 June 2026
Definition of dissonant
Adjective
  • Europe has long resisted air conditioning as noisy, an eyesore on architectural facades and unnecessary, as brutal summer heat has been relatively short-lived.
    — Anniek Bao,Evelyn Cheng, CNBC, 2 July 2026
  • The advertisement paints an ominous portrait, featuring a man in dark lighting standing in front of images of noisy computer servers.
    — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 1 July 2026
Definition of noisy
Adjective
  • Alas, Ligeti proved to be an extraordinarily difficult collaborator, his manic perfectionism colliding with practical reality and leading to unpleasant scenes.
    — Alex Ross, New Yorker, 29 June 2026
  • The consequences are unpleasant, but can also turn dangerous very quickly as body temperature rises.
    — Victoria Forster, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026
Definition of unpleasant

Browse Nearby Words

cacophonies
cacophonous
cacophony
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Cacophonous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cacophonous. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of gambol

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All