as in shrill
marked by or producing a harsh combination of sounds
a dissonant chorus of noises arose from the busy construction site
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of dissonant
That question is at the crux of Irish filmmaker John Carney’s sixth sometimes magical, at times tonally dissonant solo directorial feature.
—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
3 June 2026
But recent research found that members of the Tsimane’, a native Amazonian society in Bolivia, rate consonant and dissonant chords as equally pleasurable.
—
Literary Hub,
20 May 2026
The crowd sings the chorus in dissonant harmony.
—
Christopher Buchanan,
Los Angeles Times,
18 May 2026
Next is a deeply tragic slow movement, suggesting a more dissonant processing of Mahler and Strauss.
—
Scott Cantrell,
Dallas Morning News,
21 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for dissonant
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
3 June 2026
But recent research found that members of the Tsimane’, a native Amazonian society in Bolivia, rate consonant and dissonant chords as equally pleasurable.
—
Literary Hub,
20 May 2026
The crowd sings the chorus in dissonant harmony.
—
Christopher Buchanan,
Los Angeles Times,
18 May 2026
Next is a deeply tragic slow movement, suggesting a more dissonant processing of Mahler and Strauss.
—
Scott Cantrell,
Dallas Morning News,
21 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for dissonant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dissonant
Adjective
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On shrill winter nights, Moscow’s power is conspicuous, its Orthodox cathedrals and Stalinist high-rises illuminated, though the view falls dim in the autumn and spring, shrouded in sheets of greige.
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The chaos is still an acceptable price to pay for Birney’s expertly offputting performance, a shrill mania that gets increasingly comic over time.
Adjective
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Europe has long resisted air conditioning as noisy, an eyesore on architectural facades and unnecessary, as brutal summer heat has been relatively short-lived.
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The advertisement paints an ominous portrait, featuring a man in dark lighting standing in front of images of noisy computer servers.
Adjective
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In its cacophonous surroundings, the White House stood serene.
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In the black and Carrara marble lobby, the vibe is modern and futuristic, with a cacophonous waterfall tumbling down the walls in a stream of fluorescent colors and a lone scarlet grand piano bringing a pleasing pop of color.
Adjective
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Alas, Ligeti proved to be an extraordinarily difficult collaborator, his manic perfectionism colliding with practical reality and leading to unpleasant scenes.
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The consequences are unpleasant, but can also turn dangerous very quickly as body temperature rises.
Adjective
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In their third and final decade as one of America’s greatest bands, Sonic Youth had all but given up on pushing their discordant art rock into the mainstream.
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One post from February features a self-portrait to which Longo added ominous, discordant music and the grain of a CCTV camera, like a prisoner in a horror movie.
Adjective
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Silver metallic sneakers are in this summer thanks to Bella Hadid.
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Broadly speaking, resource discussions often focus on three categories of asteroid — water-rich carbonaceous asteroids, metallic asteroids rich in iron-nickel alloys, and stony asteroids that contain iron, nickel, and magnesium.
Adjective
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We are made loving, good, and pure – entirely free from any inharmonious tendency.
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Setting Discordant Personal Goals A 2023 study published in Current Psychology finds that partners’ inharmonious goals can have detrimental effects on relationships.
Cite this Entry
“Dissonant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dissonant. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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