harmony
Americannoun
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harmonies
plural
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agreement; accord; harmonious relations.
- Synonyms:
- friendship, amity, peace, unity, concord
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a consistent, orderly, or pleasing arrangement of parts; congruity.
- Synonyms:
- consonance, consistency, correspondence, conformity
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Music.
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any simultaneous combination of tones.
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the simultaneous combination of tones, especially when blended into chords pleasing to the ear; chordal structure, as distinguished from melody and rhythm.
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the science of the structure, relations, and practical combination of chords.
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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.
noun
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agreement in action, opinion, feeling, etc; accord
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order or congruity of parts to their whole or to one another
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agreeable sounds
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music
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a collation of the material of parallel narratives, esp of the four Gospels
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
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
Vocabulary lists containing harmony
Unit 1: Telling Details
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25 Words from "Baseball and Black History"
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "H"
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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:
Their town has certainly seen better days, but they live together in relative harmony.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Penalties can be higher if the offence is committed as part of a criminal conspiracy to disrupt peace or religious harmony.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
Many older adults make decisions to preserve family harmony, avoid a never-ending conflict, or simply end a conversation to have a peaceful day.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026
I came clean and told Pop the whole story, selling it under the guise of patriotism — and with three-part harmony and a harmonica.
From Salon ● Jul. 3, 2026
Music does not have to have harmony, however, and some music doesn't even have melody.
From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones
But you can hear the heart in Haggard’s leathery vocals, buoyed by the sweet harmonies of his backing band.
From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026
Birdsong all around the world, they say, is made up of combinations of these motifs - three types of trill, three types of whistle, chaotic notes and harmonies.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
Musically and vocally gifted, they wring harmonies and beats from an assortment of instruments, mixing genres and styles with an eloquence that surpasses the exposition sprinkled into the lyrics.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
But hallmarks of Mr. Glass’s writing are also present—arpeggiated figures, surging harmonies and relentless rhythms chief among them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
It reminded him of Merriweather’s magic during her fight with the genie, yet where Merriweather’s music had struck him as beautiful, Malevolent’s harmonies sent a chill running through his body.
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
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.
