dissonant

adjective

ˈdi-sə-nənt How to pronounce dissonant (audio)
Definition of dissonantnext
as in shrill
marked by or producing a harsh combination of sounds a dissonant chorus of noises arose from the busy construction site

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 dissonant In 49 games for Brazil, his goal return struck a dissonant chord with the Ballon d’Or campaign that Madrid waged on his behalf only two years ago, when a delegation infamously abandoned the ceremony in Paris upon learning that Manchester City’s midfielder Rodri was to be announced the winner. — James Horncastle, New York Times, 14 June 2026 As things got crazier with our heroes and the Supes, things became more dissonant. — Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 12 June 2026 That question is at the crux of Irish filmmaker John Carney’s sixth sometimes magical, at times tonally dissonant solo directorial feature. — Randy Myers, Mercury News, 3 June 2026 But recent research found that members of the Tsimane’, a native Amazonian society in Bolivia, rate consonant and dissonant chords as equally pleasurable. — Literary Hub, 20 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for dissonant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dissonant
  1. shrill
  2. noisy
  3. cacophonous
  4. unpleasant
  5. discordant
  6. metallic
  7. unmusical
  8. inharmonious
Adjective
  • With a soprano voice that’s sharp but never shrill, O’Donovan can levitate a heartfelt melody over just about any kind of accompaniment.
    — Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 30 Sep. 2026
  • When Caleb Hammer, a thirty-one-year-old personal-finance YouTuber, gets particularly exasperated, his voice enters a shrill upper register.
    — Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of shrill
Adjective
  • Today, the 31-year-old is sneakily skilled in ways beyond classical picking or noisy shredding.
    — Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 21 Oct. 2026
  • In the parking garage, the animals were unfazed by noisy construction and enthusiastic fans.
    — Sarah Larson, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of noisy
Adjective
  • The lower-register instruments in this track are also fairly mellow in the recording, and the subtle bass in the headphones almost pushes them into obscurity, further piling everything into the cacophonous middle.
    — Mark Knapp, PC Magazine, 15 Oct. 2026
  • In one, during a ribbon-cutting ceremony to unveil the new White House helipad, a project the president has shown tremendous pride in, he couldn’t be heard over the cacophonous din of Marine One.
    — Aidan McLaughlin, Vanity Fair, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of cacophonous
Adjective
  • Other research suggests trypophobic people find hole clusters as unpleasant as pictures of skin disease and that people with a history of skin problems may find hole clusters particularly uncomfortable to look at.
    — Gabriela Galvin, Scientific American, 26 Oct. 2026
  • That is followed by one focused on exploring conventional notions of beauty by uncovering the unexpected draw of unpleasant scents with Naïla Hamayed, Givaudan’s fragrance evaluator.
    — Jennifer Weil, Footwear News, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of unpleasant
Adjective
  • Trump’s discordant message with one of the top concerns voters are voicing ahead of the midterm elections has seemed heightened by his fixation on beautifying Washington and building a large ballroom at the White House.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Trump has been, perhaps, the most discordant messenger of the administration when discussing Iran.
    — Christopher Buchanan, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of discordant
Adjective
  • Percussion is at the forefront of the mix, with microscopic pinpricks in lieu of hi-hats and lots of keylike metallic jangling run through sheets of echo.
    — Daniel Bromfield, Pitchfork, 27 Oct. 2026
  • The shoes featured a stiletto heel with lace-up detailing around the ankle and glimmered slightly with a dramatic metallic finish that elevated the entire look.
    — Erin Wisti, Footwear News, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of metallic
Adjective
  • Those songs remind Omara of real people and real events, political interludes whose senselessness and brutality have left unmusical lacunae in her life.
    — Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 18 Dec. 2023
  • His parents were unmusical Russian-Jewish immigrants who ran various businesses with mixed success.
    — The Economist, The Economist, 3 Oct. 2019
Definition of unmusical
Adjective
  • We are made loving, good, and pure – entirely free from any inharmonious tendency.
    — Margaret Rogers, Christian Science Monitor, 15 Apr. 2026
  • Setting Discordant Personal Goals A 2023 study published in Current Psychology finds that partners’ inharmonious goals can have detrimental effects on relationships.
    — Mark Travers, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
Definition of inharmonious

Browse Nearby Words

dissonances
dissonant
dissuade
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Cite this Entry

“Dissonant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dissonant. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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