as in shrill
marked by or producing a harsh combination of sounds
a very unmusical chorus of squawks from the angry ravens
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of unmusical
Those songs remind Omara of real people and real events, political interludes whose senselessness and brutality have left unmusical lacunae in her life.
—
Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 18 Dec. 2023
His parents were unmusical Russian-Jewish immigrants who ran various businesses with mixed success.
—The Economist, 3 Oct. 2019
Paradoxically, then, the man most involved in the development of the electric guitar was the unmusical Leo Fender.
—David Kirby, WSJ, 17 Jan. 2019
The controversy of Schoenberg’s serialist works—the overwhelming reaction to them as ugly, nightmarish, simply unmusical—shows how firmly tonality had come to condition habits of listening.
—Paul Grimstad, The New Republic, 21 June 2018
Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 18 Dec. 2023
His parents were unmusical Russian-Jewish immigrants who ran various businesses with mixed success.
—The Economist, 3 Oct. 2019
Paradoxically, then, the man most involved in the development of the electric guitar was the unmusical Leo Fender.
—David Kirby, WSJ, 17 Jan. 2019
The controversy of Schoenberg’s serialist works—the overwhelming reaction to them as ugly, nightmarish, simply unmusical—shows how firmly tonality had come to condition habits of listening.
—Paul Grimstad, The New Republic, 21 June 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unmusical
Adjective
-
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.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Apr. 2026
-
The chaos is still an acceptable price to pay for Birney’s expertly offputting performance, a shrill mania that gets increasingly comic over time.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
26 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
This era of Jane Remover—the music, which mainlines the noisiest impulses of SounDC, the discourse—is brasher and more acidic than ever.—
Mano Sundaresan,
Pitchfork,
10 June 2026
-
His load can get a bit noisy, featuring a moderate leg kick and a slight bat wrap, but Ballinger operates with rhythm and consistently gets the barrel on the baseball.—
Gary Bedore,
Kansas City Star,
10 June 2026
Adjective
-
As things got crazier with our heroes and the Supes, things became more dissonant.—
Jim Hemphill,
IndieWire,
12 June 2026
-
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
Adjective
-
Residents who have discussed the issue online described the smell as one of the most unpleasant aspects of the ongoing seaweed buildup.—
Kelly McGreal,
FOXNews.com,
13 June 2026
-
The figure-skimming silhouette also prevents the unpleasant feeling of sweating in too-tight clothes.—
Sophie Dodd,
Travel + Leisure,
12 June 2026
Adjective
-
All three used transparency selectively, pairing it with a colored or metallic base rather than relying on a fully clear shoe.—
Maggie Clancy,
Footwear News,
13 June 2026
-
In the primary bathroom, Italian art students hand-painted the mirrors with similarly metallic hues, which complement the brass basins hammered by a Lebanese artist.—
Nicolas Milon,
Architectural Digest,
13 June 2026
Adjective
-
Jesus proved over and over again the all-encompassing authority of God, which destroys all inharmonious conditions, including sin and disease.—
Thomas Mitchinson,
Christian Science Monitor,
30 Sep. 2025
-
Setting Discordant Personal Goals A 2023 study published in Current Psychology finds that partners’ inharmonious goals can have detrimental effects on relationships.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes,
29 Mar. 2024
Adjective
-
In its cacophonous surroundings, the White House stood serene.—
Mark Puleo,
New York Times,
11 June 2026
-
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.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
27 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unmusical.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unmusical. Accessed 15 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
