dissonant

/'disənənt/
Học thuật
Thân thiện
dissonant

The orchestra played a dissonant chord that created tension.

Definition
  1. Adjective:
    • Not in agreement or harmony; conflicting: Describes things that are incompatible, contradictory, or at odds with each other.
    • Lacking in harmony; inharmonious: Describes a lack of agreement or accord, often in a non-musical context, such as in opinions or relationships.
    • Characterized by musical dissonance; harmonically unresolved: In music, describes a combination of sounds that feels tense, unstable, or discordant, requiring resolution to a consonant chord.
Usage Examples
  • Adjective (General Conflict):
    • His actions were dissonant with his stated principles.
    • The two witnesses gave dissonant accounts of the event.
  • Adjective (Musical Context):
    • The composer used a dissonant chord to create a feeling of suspense.
    • The piece ends on a deliberately dissonant note.
Advanced Usage
  • Cognitive Dissonance: A psychological term describing the mental discomfort experienced when holding two or more contradictory beliefs, values, or ideas.
    • Buying an expensive car while advocating for environmentalism caused him significant cognitive dissonance.
Variants and Related Words
  • Dissonance (noun): The state of being dissonant; a harsh or disagreeable combination of sounds; a lack of agreement or harmony.
    • There was a clear dissonance between the company's friendly image and its harsh labor practices.
  • Dissonantly (adverb): In a dissonant manner.
    • The instruments clashed dissonantly.
Synonyms
  • Discordant: Disagreeing or incongruous; (in music) harsh and jarring.
  • Inharmonious: Not forming or contributing to a pleasing whole; conflicting.
  • Incongruous: Not in harmony or keeping with the surroundings or other aspects.
  • Conflicting: Incompatible or at variance; clashing.
Antonyms
  • Harmonious: Forming a pleasing or consistent whole; free from disagreement.
  • Consonant: In agreement or harmony; (in music) denoting a combination of notes that is stable and resolved.
  • Concordant: Being in agreement or harmony.
Related Phrases/Idioms
  • A dissonant note: Often used figuratively to describe an element that is strikingly out of place or inconsistent with everything else.
    • His angry outburst struck a dissonant note at the peaceful celebration.
dissonant

The orchestra played a dissonant chord that created tension.

Adjective
  1. not in accord
    • desires at variance with his duty
    • widely discrepant statements
  2. lacking in harmony
  3. characterized by musical dissonance; harmonically unresolved