Dictionary

dissonance en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈdɪsənɪns/ (UK, US)
• /ˈdɪsənəns/ (UK, US)

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French dissonance, from Latin dissonantia; by surface analysis, dis- + son- + -ance.

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) A harsh, discordant combination of sounds.
2. (countable, uncountable) Conflicting notes that are not overtones of the note or chord sounding.
3. (uncountable) A state of disagreement or conflict.
   • Cognitive dissonance exists when a person possesses two cognitions, one of which is contradictory to the other 1977, Lawrence S. Wrightsman with Kay Deaux, Social Psychology, page 366:
4. (countable) An instance of that state.
   • In this polyphony of images in the unconscious which is beyond and outside historical time, there are complex harmonies but no dissonances: the images do not clash, but that, of course, is an aesthetic judgment and not a scientific one. 1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 106:

Forms

Antonyms

concord · consonance · concordance

Deriveds

dissonancy · critical dissonance · lyrical dissonance · dissonant · cognitive dissonance

Relateds

sonic · sonorous · assonance · sound

Synonyms

spat · argument · quarrel · threap · blue · barney · difference · wrangle · hassle · bawl out · palaver · flite · row · dustup · palaver · tangle · disagreement · controversy · squabble · discordance · argument · contention · dispute · ding-dong · falling out · disputation · blue · spat · feud · disharmony · debate · issue · dispute · disharmony · falling out · argy-bargy · threap · feud · hassle · controversy · quarrel · dissonance · clash · wrangle · ding-dong · dustup · disjunction · altercation · squabble · tangle · quibble · cacophony · bobbery · altercation · debate · brawl · flite · dispute · contention · tiff · bobbery · barney · argy-bargy · discord · face-off · difference · quibble · disunion · issue · fight · disagreement · conflict · disunion · disharmony · conflict · bawl out · clash · face-off · dissonance · fight · dispute · disputation · row · tiff · discordance · discordance · brawl · clash

Translations (45)

hu disszonancia (conflicting notes that are not overtones of the note or chord sounding) · uk дисона́нс (a harsh, discordant combination of sounds) · cmn 不和諧 /不和谐 (a harsh, discordant combination of sounds) · el ασυμφωνία (a harsh, discordant combination of sounds) · ro disonanță (conflicting notes that are not overtones of the note or chord sounding) · el παραφωνία (conflicting notes that are not overtones of the note or chord sounding) · fi dissonanssi (conflicting notes that are not overtones of the note or chord sounding) · he צְרִימָה (a harsh, discordant combination of sounds) · ca dissonància (a state of disagreement or conflict) · bg дисонанс (a harsh, discordant combination of sounds) · ru диссонанс (a harsh, discordant combination of sounds) · el ασυμφωνία (conflicting notes that are not overtones of the note or chord sounding) · fi kakofonia (a harsh, discordant combination of sounds) · tl dilingaw (conflicting notes that are not overtones of the note or chord sounding) · uk дисгармо́нія (conflicting notes that are not overtones of the note or chord sounding) · cs nesoulad (a state of disagreement or conflict) · bg неблагозвучие (a harsh, discordant combination of sounds) · es disonancia (a harsh, discordant combination of sounds) · uk дисона́нс (a state of disagreement or conflict) · fi epäsopu (a state of disagreement or conflict) · fi riitasointu (conflicting notes that are not overtones of the note or chord sounding) · he צְרִימָה (conflicting notes that are not overtones of the note or chord sounding) · ro cacofonie (a harsh, discordant combination of sounds) · fi riita (a state of disagreement or conflict) · uk дисона́нс (conflicting notes that are not overtones of the note or chord sounding) · es disonancia (a state of disagreement or conflict) · tl dilingaw (a harsh, discordant combination of sounds) · cs neshoda (a state of disagreement or conflict) · bg дисхармония (conflicting notes that are not overtones of the note or chord sounding) · pl dysonans (a harsh, discordant combination of sounds) · ja 不一致 (a state of disagreement or conflict) · cy anghytgord (a harsh, discordant combination of sounds) · cs disonance (conflicting notes that are not overtones of the note or chord sounding) · ca dissonància (conflicting notes that are not overtones of the note or chord sounding) · fi sekasointu (a harsh, discordant combination of sounds) · pl dysharmonia (conflicting notes that are not overtones of the note or chord sounding) · cy anghyseinedd (a harsh, discordant combination of sounds) · ru диссонанс (a state of disagreement or conflict) · bg несъгласие (a state of disagreement or conflict) · fr dissonance (conflicting notes that are not overtones of the note or chord sounding) · es disonancia (conflicting notes that are not overtones of the note or chord sounding) · cs nesouzvuk (a harsh, discordant combination of sounds) · ur نا آہنگی (a state of disagreement or conflict) · el ασυμφωνία (a state of disagreement or conflict) · de Dissonanz (a harsh, discordant combination of sounds)