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
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.
Contacted over Discord, Scout denied manipulating markets or trying to swing votes to reach blatantly wrong conclusions.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 18, 2026
Instead, the market seemed to move because a UMA voter controlling roughly 10% of the vote announced a “Yes” vote on Discord.
From Barron's • May 12, 2026
They want to play backrooms at record stores with 500 kids paying $15 and it’s only prominently advertised in a Discord group.
From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026
Trading on Polymarket continues as this process unfolds, often leading to swings in odds as the debate publicly plays out on Discord.
From Barron's • May 12, 2026
His sister is there, Eris, which means Discord, and Strife, her son.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
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.
