Meanings
plural dissonances
- countableuncountableA harsh, discordant combination of sounds.
Synonyms: cacophony · Antonyms: consonance, concordance, concord
- countableuncountableentertainmentConflicting notes that are not overtones of the note or chord sounding.
- uncountableA state of disagreement or conflict.
Cognitive dissonance exists when a person possesses two cognitions, one of which is contradictory to the other
1977, Lawrence S. Wrightsman with Kay Deaux, Social Psychology, page 366Synonyms: discordance, discord, disharmony, disjunction, dispute, argument, argy-bargy, altercation
- countableAn instance of that state.
In this polyphony of images in the unconscious which is beyond and outside historical time, there are complex harmonies but no dissonances: the images do not clash, but that, of course, is an aesthetic judgment and not a scientific one.
1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 106Synonyms: clash, dispute, argument, argy-bargy, altercation, contention, barney, bawl out
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA state of disagreement or conflict.
nounAn instance of that state.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna conflict of people's opinions or actions or characters
nounthe auditory experience of sound that lacks musical quality; sound that is a disagreeable auditory experience
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latindissonantia
- Middle Frenchdissonance
- Englishdissonance
Borrowed from Middle French dissonance, from Latin dissonantia; by surface analysis, dis- + son- + -ance.
More words from Middle French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian неблагозвучие, дисонанс
- неблагозвучие (neblagozvučie)a harsh, discordant combination of sounds
- дисонанс (disonans)a harsh, discordant combination of sounds
- дисхармония (disharmonija)conflicting notes that are not overtones of the note or chord sounding
- несъгласие (nesăglasie)a state of disagreement or conflict
Catalan dissonància, dissonància
- dissonànciaconflicting notes that are not overtones of the note or chord sounding
- dissonànciaa state of disagreement or conflict
Chinese Mandarin 不和諧 /不和谐
- 不和諧 /不和谐a harsh, discordant combination of sounds
Czech nesouzvuk, disonance
- nesouzvuka harsh, discordant combination of sounds
- disonanceconflicting notes that are not overtones of the note or chord sounding
- neshodaa state of disagreement or conflict
- nesoulada state of disagreement or conflict
Finnish sekasointu, kakofonia
- sekasointua harsh, discordant combination of sounds
- kakofoniaa harsh, discordant combination of sounds
- riitasointuconflicting notes that are not overtones of the note or chord sounding
- dissonanssiconflicting notes that are not overtones of the note or chord sounding
- riitaa state of disagreement or conflict
- epäsopua state of disagreement or conflict
French dissonance
- dissonanceconflicting notes that are not overtones of the note or chord sounding
German Dissonanz
- Dissonanza harsh, discordant combination of sounds
Greek ασυμφωνία, ασυμφωνία
- ασυμφωνία (asymfonía)a harsh, discordant combination of sounds
- ασυμφωνία (asymfonía)conflicting notes that are not overtones of the note or chord sounding
- παραφωνία (parafonía)conflicting notes that are not overtones of the note or chord sounding
- ασυμφωνία (asymfonía)a state of disagreement or conflict
Hebrew צְרִימָה, צְרִימָה
- צְרִימָה (tsrimá)a harsh, discordant combination of sounds
- צְרִימָה (tsrimá)conflicting notes that are not overtones of the note or chord sounding
Hungarian disszonancia
- disszonanciaconflicting notes that are not overtones of the note or chord sounding
Japanese 不一致
- 不一致 (fuitchi)a state of disagreement or conflict
Polish dysonans, dysharmonia
- dysonansa harsh, discordant combination of sounds
- dysharmoniaconflicting notes that are not overtones of the note or chord sounding
Romanian cacofonie, disonanță
- cacofoniea harsh, discordant combination of sounds
- disonanțăconflicting notes that are not overtones of the note or chord sounding
Russian диссонанс, диссонанс
- диссонанс (dissonans)a harsh, discordant combination of sounds
- диссонанс (dissonans)a state of disagreement or conflict
Spanish disonancia, disonancia
- disonanciaa harsh, discordant combination of sounds
- disonanciaconflicting notes that are not overtones of the note or chord sounding
- disonanciaa state of disagreement or conflict
Tagalog dilingaw, dilingaw
- dilingawa harsh, discordant combination of sounds
- dilingawconflicting notes that are not overtones of the note or chord sounding
Ukrainian дисона́нс, дисона́нс
- дисона́нс (dysonáns)a harsh, discordant combination of sounds
- дисона́нс (dysonáns)conflicting notes that are not overtones of the note or chord sounding
- дисгармо́нія (dysharmónija)conflicting notes that are not overtones of the note or chord sounding
- дисона́нс (dysonáns)a state of disagreement or conflict
Urdu نا آہنگی
- نا آہنگی (nā āhaṉgī)a state of disagreement or conflict
Welsh anghytgord, anghyseinedd
- anghytgorda harsh, discordant combination of sounds
- anghyseinedda harsh, discordant combination of sounds
Cite this entry
dissonance. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dissonance
“dissonance.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dissonance. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dissonance,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dissonance.
Source: dissonance on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.