dissonance

American  

[dis-uh-nuhns] / ˈdɪs ə nəns /

noun

• dissonances
  plural

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.

3. disagreement or incongruity.

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dissonance British  

/ 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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Usage

What does dissonance mean? Dissonance is harsh, inharmonious noise—cacophony. It can also refer to stark disagreement or lack of consistency. In both cases, a close synonym is discord. In the context of music, the word dissonance is used in a specific way to refer to a combination of sounds thought to be inharmonious (often ones intentionally composed to be so). It can also refer to a chord or interval that features such disharmony. In music and in general, dissonance is the opposite of consonance, which means harmony, agreement, or accord. In psychology, the term cognitive dissonance refers to the unease a person feels when they have two or more contradictory or incompatible beliefs. An adjective form of dissonance is dissonant. Example: Leaders in both factions of the party promised harmony, but so far there has been nothing but dissonance and constant arguing.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• dissonances
  plural

Etymology

Origin of dissonance

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

Explanation

Disagreeable sounds can be called dissonance. You know it's dissonance if you have the strong desire to cover your ears with your hands. Racket, noise, dissonance — all can describe sounds that are not pleasant. While some musicians purposely add a little dissonance into their melodies to create an unexpected sound, others, like someone who just started drum lessons, creates dissonance by accident. Dissonance can also be a conflict between people or opinions, like the dissonance you feel when you want to do something but your parents say "no."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dissonance dissonances

“There’s a cognitive dissonance between the intricacies of these deals and the actual amount of water that is in storage,” said Sarah Porter, director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

Anchored on a near-orchestral soundstage, its 20 tracks ricochet from in-your-face punk dissonance to majestic broken-heart dirges, a lovely duet with St. Vincent, rootsy folk interludes and farfisa-rich lounge.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026

Dwayne Johnson’s performance in “The Smashing Machine,” for all the film’s flaws, cleverly reconciled the dissonance between the outward images of masculine power and internal feelings of self-loathing.

From Salon ● May 27, 2026

As if this wasn’t ominous enough, the latest BofA Securities fund-manager’s survey shows that Wall Street is, once again, experiencing severe cognitive dissonance: It is simultaneously worried about the market, but afraid to sell.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 14, 2026

Moving from a dissonance to the consonance that is expected to follow it is called resolution, or resolving the dissonance.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones

The man who created “The Rite of Spring”—a ballet whose pounding dissonances and unconventional rhythms caused pandemonium at its 1913 Paris premiere—now insisted that the bolder the creative ambition, the tighter the frame must be.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 11, 2026

Pohlad treasures the harmonies and dissonances that wonderful actors create, even if his camera can excessively linger on Affleck’s brooding at the expense of an under-utilized Deschanel as the long-supportive wife.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2023

Q: I love the beauty of the dissonances in the Carl Ruggles piece you’ve selected.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 6, 2022

He came closest to surprising in the cadenza he created for the first movement, which had ruminative dissonances and lively string crossings.

From New York Times ● Nov. 25, 2021

Or is there a kind of cosmic fugue, with themes and counterpoints, dissonances and harmonies, a billion different voices playing the life music of the Galaxy?

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

Related Words

• discord
• discrepancy
• disparity
• dissension
• incongruity