harmony

American  

[hahr-muh-nee] / ˈhɑr mə ni /

noun

harmonies plural

1. agreement; accord; harmonious relations.

   Synonyms:

   friendship, amity, peace, unity, concord

2. a consistent, orderly, or pleasing arrangement of parts; congruity.

   Synonyms:

   consonance, consistency, correspondence, conformity

3. Music.

   1. any simultaneous combination of tones.

   2. the simultaneous combination of tones, especially when blended into chords pleasing to the ear; chordal structure, as distinguished from melody and rhythm.

   3. the science of the structure, relations, and practical combination of chords.

4. an arrangement of the contents of the Gospels, either of all four or of the first three, designed to show their parallelism, mutual relations, and differences.

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harmony British  

/ ˈhɑːmənɪ /

noun

1. agreement in action, opinion, feeling, etc; accord

2. order or congruity of parts to their whole or to one another

3. agreeable sounds

4. music

   1. any combination of notes sounded simultaneously

   2. the vertically represented structure of a piece of music Compare melody rhythm

   3. the art or science concerned with the structure and combinations of chords

5. a collation of the material of parallel narratives, esp of the four Gospels

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harmony Cultural  

1. The sounding of two or more musical notes at the same time in a way that is pleasant or desired. Harmony, melody, and rhythm are elements of music.

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Synonym Usage

See symmetry. Harmony, melody in music suggest a combination of sounds from voices or musical instruments. Harmony is the blending of simultaneous sounds of different pitch or quality, making chords: harmony in part singing; harmony between violins and horns. Melody is the rhythmical combination of successive sounds of various pitch, making up the tune or air: a tuneful melody to accompany cheerful words.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• preharmony
  noun
• nonharmony
  noun

Inflected Forms

noun

• harmonies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of harmony

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English armonye, from Middle French, from Latin harmonia, from Greek harmonía “joint, framework, agreement, harmony,” akin to hárma “chariot,” harmós “joint,” ararískein “to join together”

Explanation

Harmony is the sound of things that go together well — people singing in harmony are in tune with each other. Best friends should be in harmony most of the time if they want to stay best buds! Harmony is a noun that describes an agreement, such as in feeling, sound, look, feel, or smell. It’s necessary for roommates to be able to live in harmony in a small space, or they’re in for a wake-up call. In music, harmony is a pleasing combination and progression of chords. If it makes you wince, it’s lacking harmony. Synonyms for harmony include accord, concord, cooperation, like-mindedness, and unanimity. Antonyms, on the other hand, range from clash and disagreement to discord.

Example Sentences

It’s a nice ending, though it illustrates the difficulty of fashioning a story out of pure harmony.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026

Because he was absolutely a master of harmony, rhythm, of creating a vibe.

From Los Angeles Times • May 25, 2026

The problem this time around was that he didn't have anywhere near the same standard of player, nor was there harmony at the club.

From BBC • May 23, 2026

"Once you feel at one with the nature and the universe you will feel the harmony that you can be whatever you want to be and everything is possible."

From Barron's • May 17, 2026

All of these musics have long traditions that are very different from the familiar major-minor tonal system, and usually also have a different approach to harmony, rhythm, and performance practice.

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

Related Words

• conformity
• consensus
• consistency
• cooperation
• friendship
• good will
• kinship
• peace
• rapport
• tranquility
• unanimity
• understanding
• unity