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.

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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

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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”; 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

"When we use instruments like the bonang, Pythagoras's special numbers go out the window and we encounter entirely new patterns of consonance and dissonance," Dr Harrison said.

From Science Daily • Feb. 27, 2024

Fujita’s playing, gossamer without sacrificing the sturdy consonance of Mozart’s style, has a prettiness all its own.

From New York Times • Jan. 26, 2023

But most of all it takes him to his childhood home kitchen, where he'd often watch his grandmother make tepache, fine-tuned to consonance with cinnamon and black pepper.

From Salon • Aug. 16, 2022

This dark consonance was never more clear than on Oct.

From Slate • Oct. 31, 2020

Of course, if there are problems with tuning, the notes will not sound good together, but this is not what consonance and dissonance are about.

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

Related Words

• conformity