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View synonyms for dissonance

dissonance

[ dis-uh-nuhns ]

noun

  1. inharmonious or harsh sound; discord; cacophony.
  2. Music.
    1. a simultaneous combination of tones conventionally accepted as being in a state of unrest and needing completion.
    2. an unresolved, discordant chord or interval. Compare consonance ( def 3 ).
  3. disagreement or incongruity.


dissonance

/ ˈdɪsənəns /

noun

  1. a discordant combination of sounds
  2. lack of agreement or consistency
  3. music
    1. a sensation commonly associated with all intervals of the second and seventh, all diminished and augmented intervals, and all chords based on these intervals Compare consonance
    2. an interval or chord of this kind


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Word History and Origins

Origin of dissonance1

1565–75; < Late Latin dissonantia, equivalent to disson- ( dissonant ) + -antia -ance

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Example Sentences

A big part of the reason is a simple psychological phenomenon called cognitive dissonance.

These subversive narratives were not the solution I sought to the dissonance between my expected and actual college experience.

But when the school holds a ceremony honoring the soldiers who killed her Arab brethren, she suffers clear cognitive dissonance.

But when she takes on the rock scene, she manages to catch all the sociological dissonance and subtle countermelodies.

The European rules create cognitive dissonance: Reality refuses to line up with their convictions.

To make the dissonance more striking, we place the passages in parallel columns.

It was a tumult of harsh voices; but to Fabri in his happiness their various dissonance made sweet harmony.

Clash of character being the starting point of drama we have it amplified in the international by both sympathy and dissonance.

Dissonance to a musical ear is not more horrid than want of harmony between characters to the soul of sensibility.

He could but hope there might be some way of reconciling the terrible dissonance between Nature and Barbara's God!

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dissolving viewdissonancy