dissonance
Americannoun
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inharmonious or harsh sound; discord; cacophony.
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Music.
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a simultaneous combination of tones conventionally accepted as being in a state of unrest and needing completion.
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an unresolved, discordant chord or interval.
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disagreement or incongruity.
noun
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a discordant combination of sounds
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lack of agreement or consistency
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music
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a sensation commonly associated with all intervals of the second and seventh, all diminished and augmented intervals, and all chords based on these intervals Compare consonance
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an interval or chord of this kind
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Usage
What does dissonance mean? Dissonance is harsh, inharmonious noise—cacophony. It can also refer to stark disagreement or lack of consistency. In both cases, a close synonym is discord. In the context of music, the word dissonance is used in a specific way to refer to a combination of sounds thought to be inharmonious (often ones intentionally composed to be so). It can also refer to a chord or interval that features such disharmony. In music and in general, dissonance is the opposite of consonance, which means harmony, agreement, or accord. In psychology, the term cognitive dissonance refers to the unease a person feels when they have two or more contradictory or incompatible beliefs. An adjective form of dissonance is dissonant. Example: Leaders in both factions of the party promised harmony, but so far there has been nothing but dissonance and constant arguing.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of dissonance
1565–75; < Late Latin dissonantia, equivalent to disson- ( see dissonant) + -antia -ance
Explanation
Disagreeable sounds can be called dissonance. You know it's dissonance if you have the strong desire to cover your ears with your hands. Racket, noise, dissonance — all can describe sounds that are not pleasant. While some musicians purposely add a little dissonance into their melodies to create an unexpected sound, others, like someone who just started drum lessons, creates dissonance by accident. Dissonance can also be a conflict between people or opinions, like the dissonance you feel when you want to do something but your parents say "no."
Vocabulary lists containing dissonance
Common Senses: Son ("Sound")
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "D"
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myPerspectives 10.1
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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.
See Examples For:
The cognitive dissonance contributed to the thickness in the air that week.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
He is a core part of their identity, which means they will change their beliefs and twist reality to justify his behavior and resolve the cognitive dissonance.
From Salon ● Apr. 16, 2026
As if this wasn’t ominous enough, the latest BofA Securities fund-manager’s survey shows that Wall Street is, once again, experiencing severe cognitive dissonance: It is simultaneously worried about the market, but afraid to sell.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 14, 2026
While it’s certainly possible, I go back to the cognitive dissonance thing.
From Slate ● Apr. 10, 2026
It’s a weird kind of dissonance, seeing him stand here in front of my door.
From "The Sun Is Also a Star" by Nicola Yoon
The man who created “The Rite of Spring”—a ballet whose pounding dissonances and unconventional rhythms caused pandemonium at its 1913 Paris premiere—now insisted that the bolder the creative ambition, the tighter the frame must be.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 11, 2026
It gives Beck room to peal some clarion melodies and then attack them with trills, bent notes, blues licks and dissonances.
From New York Times ● Jan. 12, 2023
Q: I love the beauty of the dissonances in the Carl Ruggles piece you’ve selected.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 6, 2022
Everything about it, from the spare, enveloping details of Grant Major’s production design to the nerve-shredding dissonances of Jonny Greenwood’s score, directs our focus inward.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 16, 2021
As the music, enlivened by unscored dissonances, swelled to a raucous climax, she gripped the wooden sides of her chair, closed her eyes.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
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.
