dissonant

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈdɪsənənt/ UK /ˈdɪsənənt/ See IPA manual

adj

Meanings

1

adj
lacking harmony; clashing or discordant

The dissonant notes gave the score an eerie, restless quality.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · lacking harmony; clashing... discordant inharmonious jarring clashing cacophonous jangling

Opposites

consonant harmonious melodious euphonious concordant

Word family

Derived forms dissonantlydissonance

Related forms dissonance consonant resonant

Etymology

From Latin dissonant-, present participle of dissonare ('to sound discordantly'), from dis- ('apart') + sonare ('to sound'), from sonus ('sound').

dissonare Latin sonus Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

# dissonant

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** ˈdɪsənənt
**IPA (UK):** ˈdɪsənənt

## Meanings
1. lacking harmony; clashing or discordant

## Examples
- The dissonant notes gave the score an eerie, restless quality.

## Synonyms
- discordant
- inharmonious
- jarring
- clashing
- cacophonous
- jangling

## Antonyms
- consonant
- harmonious
- melodious
- euphonious
- concordant

## Derived Forms
- dissonantly
- dissonance

## Related Forms
- dissonance
- consonant
- resonant

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

## Etymology
From Latin dissonant-, present participle of dissonare ('to sound discordantly'), from dis- ('apart') + sonare ('to sound'), from sonus ('sound').

## AI Etymology
Dissonant is from Latin dissonant-, present participle of 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 an adjective, it means "lacking harmony; clashing or discordant", keeping the historical formation close to the word's ordinary semantic work. Related words include dissonance, consonant, and resonant; derived forms include dissonantly and dissonance.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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