discord
Americannoun
-
lack of concord or harmony between persons or things.
marital discord.
- Synonyms:
- contention, argument, antagonism, controversy, struggle, conflict
-
disagreement; difference of opinion.
- Synonyms:
- contention, argument, antagonism, controversy, struggle, conflict
-
strife; dispute; war.
- Synonyms:
- contention, argument, antagonism, controversy, struggle, conflict
-
Music. an inharmonious combination of musical tones sounded together.
-
any confused or harsh noise; dissonance.
verb (used without object)
noun
-
lack of agreement of harmony; strife
-
harsh confused mingling of sounds
-
a combination of musical notes containing one or more dissonant intervals See dissonance concord
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
have discordedperfect
-
has discordedperfect 3rd person singular
-
have been discordingperfect progressive
-
is discordingprogressive 3rd person singular
-
are discordingprogressive
-
am discordingprogressive 1st person singular
-
discordssingular 3rd person
-
has been discordingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
-
discordingparticiple
Past
-
had discordedperfect
-
had been discordingperfect progressive
-
was discordingprogressive singular
-
were discordingprogressive plural
-
discordedparticiple
-
discordedsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of discord
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English noun descorde, discorde, from Anglo-French, Old French descort, descorde, from Latin discordia, derivative of discord-, stem of discors “discordant,” from dis- dis- 1 + cord-, stem of cors “heart”
Explanation
Discord is the strife and tension that arises when two sides disagree on something, like the high-pitched screaming of two kids fighting over the front seat of the car. Discord can be broken down into the prefix dis, meaning "different," and cord, which stems from an old word for "heart." So that leaves us with "different hearts." So if we're talking about music, discord means a lack of harmony — tones that clash so badly your ears bleed. But when there's discord between people, their hearts are in different places — which usually results in more than a few raised voices clashing disharmoniously.
Vocabulary lists containing discord
Figurative Language in King's "I Have a Dream" Speech (1963)
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Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" Speech (1963)
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Body Language: Cor, Cord, Cardio ("Heart")
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Attorney for the District of Columbia and former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, has reportedly begun issuing sweeping subpoenas to tech giants like Reddit, X, Google, Discord and Meta.
From Salon • May 30, 2026
This could see the UK look more closely at platforms not covered by Australia's restrictions, such as Roblox and Discord.
From BBC • May 25, 2026
Contacted over Discord, Scout denied manipulating markets or trying to swing votes to reach blatantly wrong conclusions.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 18, 2026
They debate how the market should resolve in a dedicated server on Discord, the social-media platform.
From Barron's • May 12, 2026
He returned home after things had settled, as the Years of Discord came to an end, as something like that order you speak of was restored.
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
