harmony

American  

[hahr-muh-nee] / ˈhɑr mə ni /

noun

plural

harmonies

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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Related Words

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

• nonharmony noun
• preharmony noun

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”

Example Sentences

Chemical companies generate huge revenues and support hundreds of thousands of jobs, contributing to social cohesion and harmony, he said.

From Barron's • Mar. 26, 2026

Still, amid the delights of Mr. Koolhaas’s stair, there are reminders that he is part of the generation of Deconstructivist architects who disdained the profession’s traditional values of unity, harmony and stability.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026

Somewhat miraculously, we’re carried out of this consequential collision of hearts and minds on the lightest of notes, with the sense that our capacity to rediscover harmony will always be beautifully mysterious.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 19, 2026

While the King was launching his deeply-felt harmony film project about the environment recently, it was drowned out by the headlines about Andrew and the Epstein files.

From BBC • Feb. 20, 2026

Note: In order for the harmony to work with the song, the pitches for “gu-li gu-li” need to be changed in measures 3 and 7 to a “Bb” rather than “A.”

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

Related Words

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