cacophonous
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of cacophonous
From the Greek word kakóphōnos, dating back to 1790–1800. See caco-, -phone, -ous
Explanation
The adjective cacophonous describes loud, harsh sounds, like the cacophonous racket your brother and his band mates make while trying to learn how to play their instruments. To correctly pronounce cacophonous, accent the second syllable: "cuh-CAW-fuh-nus." It is related to the Greek words kakos, meaning "bad, evil," and phone, or "voice." You may feel like you're facing something evil if you’re bombarded by the cacophonous sounds of, say, political pundits yelling at one another, or the chaotic sounds of traffic and voices on a busy urban street. Cacophonous is the opposite of harmonious.
Vocabulary lists containing cacophonous
100 SAT words Beginning with "C"
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Turn It Up! Synonyms for "Loud"
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Paper Towns
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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.
It’s a film as contradictory and cacophonous as America itself.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
It’s already quite hot inside my shoebox apartment as the radiators clank away, drowning out my upstairs neighbor’s heavy footsteps with their cacophonous symphony.
From Salon ● Feb. 7, 2026
The spicy pitch played its part, as did the cacophonous atmosphere created by 51,531 inside the colossal Perth Stadium.
From BBC ● Nov. 21, 2025
Her uncle Steve Segner owned the shop, and she grew to appreciate the cacophonous menagerie of birds and loose crickets.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 4, 2025
Outside, the cacophonous uproar resumed louder than ever.
From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
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.
