dissonance

C2+ Topic:Music Theory

US /ˈdɪsənəns/ UK /ˈdɪsənəns/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a harsh or inharmonious combination of sounds or ideas

The chord's deliberate dissonance unsettled the listening audience.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a harsh or inharmonious... discorddisharmonycacophonyclashinharmonyjangle

Opposites

consonance harmony accord concord euphony

Word family

Derived forms dissonantdissonantly

Related forms dissonant consonance resonance

Simplified etymology

Dissonance entered English in the later Middle Ages with the sense “inharmonious sound.” It belongs to the family of sound words derived from Latin sonus, “sound.”

Etymology

From Old French dissonance, from Late Latin dissonantia, from Latin dissonare ('to sound discordantly'), from dis- ('apart') + sonare ('to sound'), from sonus ('sound').

dissonare Latin sonus Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Music Theory Abstract Ideas

External links

# dissonance

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈdɪsənəns/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈdɪsənəns/

## Meanings
1. a harsh or inharmonious combination of sounds or ideas

## Examples
- The chord's deliberate dissonance unsettled the listening audience.

## Synonyms
- discord
- disharmony
- cacophony
- clash
- inharmony
- jangle

## Antonyms
- consonance
- harmony
- accord
- concord
- euphony

## Derived Forms
- dissonant
- dissonantly

## Related Forms
- dissonant
- consonance
- resonance

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: dissonare
- Root: sonus

## Etymology
From Old French dissonance, from Late Latin dissonantia, from Latin dissonare ('to sound discordantly'), from dis- ('apart') + sonare ('to sound'), from sonus ('sound').

## AI Etymology
Dissonance is from Old French dissonance, from Late Latin dissonantia, from Latin dissonare ('to sound discordantly'), from dis- ('apart') + sonare ('to sound'), from sonus ('sound'). The ancestry passes through Latin dissonare and Latin sonus. The prefix dis- often marks separation, reversal, or negation in Latin and English formations, helping to explain the word's surface structure. In present use as a noun, it means "a harsh or inharmonious combination of sounds or ideas", keeping the historical formation close to the word's ordinary semantic work. Related words include dissonant, consonance, and resonance; derived forms include dissonant and dissonantly.

## Topics
- Music Theory
- Abstract Ideas

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