SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
dissonant
adjective
Lacking harmony or agreement, whether in sound or in ideas.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Clashing or lacking harmony
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topIn music, dissonant combinations can be intentional; the word does not by itself judge their artistic value.
RELATED FORMS, ONE FEATURED ENTRY
The dissonance family
dissonant is grouped under dissonance in the main dictionaries. This form keeps its meaning and previous study record.
dissonancenoun
A lack of harmony or agreement; also a clashing combination of sounds.
Lack of agreement
Closest synonyms
Related expressions
Clashing sounds
Closest synonyms
Related expressions
The critic noted a dissonance between the cheerful title and the bleak story.
The dissonance between a promise of open participation and a plan to exclude dissenting members became immediately visible.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See dissonant in use
The hopeful title struck a dissonant note beside the essay's bleak conclusion.
A demand for elaborate ingredients struck a dissonant note beside an invitation emphasizing inexpensive recipes, so the editor asked the contributor to explain the choice.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license