consonance

American  

[kon-suh-nuhns] / ˈkɒn sə nəns /

Also consonancy

noun

1. accord or agreement.

   Synonyms:

   correspondence, harmony, concord

   Antonyms:

   dissonance

2. correspondence of sounds; harmony of sounds.

3. Music. a simultaneous combination of tones conventionally accepted as being in a state of repose.

4. Prosody.

   1. the correspondence of consonants, especially those at the end of a word, in a passage of prose or verse.

   2. the use of the repetition of consonants or consonant patterns as a rhyming device.

5. Physics. the property of two sounds the frequencies of which have a ratio equal to a small whole number.

---

consonance British  

/ ˈkɒnsənəns /

noun

1. agreement, harmony, or accord

2. prosody similarity between consonants, but not between vowels, as between the s and t sounds in sweet silent thought Compare assonance

3. music

   1. an aesthetically pleasing sensation or perception associated with the interval of the octave, the perfect fourth and fifth, the major and minor third and sixth, and chords based on these intervals Compare dissonance

   2. an interval or chord producing this sensation

---

Other Word Forms

• nonconsonance
  noun

Etymology

Origin of consonance

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin consonantia “concord,” from consonant- (stem of consonāns “sounding together”; see consonant) + -ia -y

Explanation

The noun consonance refers to a state of agreement or harmony of parts, and it often refers to a pleasing combination of musical sounds. In its musical sense, the opposite of consonance is dissonance. Consonance can also refer to a repetition of consonants in words that are close together, as the "ck" in "thick sock." In this sense, the opposite is assonance, which is a repetition of vowel sounds, as the "a's" in "bake sale."

Example Sentences

She is currently a Partner & Co-Founder at Consonance Capital Partners, a healthcare-focused private equity firm.

From Time • Dec. 5, 2014

A solitary nod to the past, Elizabeth Bell’s “Andromeda,” was featured in a 2002 North/South Consonance event, the first presented at Merkin.

From New York Times • Mar. 9, 2010

NOTE: For activities that introduce these concepts to young students, please see Consonance and Dissonance Activitiesll .

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

Consonance is the coalescence of sounds without appreciable beats.

From Popular scientific lectures by Mach, Ernst

Consonance, however, is not identical with pleasingness, for different combinations are sometimes pleasing, sometimes displeasing.

From The Psychology of Beauty by Howes, Ethel Dench Puffer

Related Words

• conformity