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
- undiscording adjective
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.
Such candid airing of friction is unusual at the court, where personal discord is normally kept behind closed doors and legal disagreements are rendered in the formal language of written dissents.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 18, 2026
And it isn’t just at home where the president faces discord.
From Barron's • Mar. 19, 2026
“I wonder if they’re intentionally not giving them enough salmon to so create discord and chaos,” said one viewer, “It’s gotta be such good salmon. A good smoked salmon can change your life.”
From Salon • Feb. 28, 2026
Not that there aren’t villains; indeed, as much as there is accord within the household, there is discord without.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 23, 2026
Eisenhower, now fully alive to the limitations of the scientific advice Strauss had been feeding him, disingenuously asked him to explain the discord in the scientific community about the efficacy of monitoring.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
