cacophony

ca·coph·o·ny

noun \ka-ˈkä-fə-nē, -ˈkȯ- also -ˈka-\

plural ca·coph·o·nies

Definition of CACOPHONY

: harsh or discordant sound : dissonance 2; specifically : harshness in the sound of words or phrases

Examples of CACOPHONY

1. The sounds of barking dogs and sirens added to the cacophony on the streets.
2. <the cacophony of a pet store full of animals>
3. The cacophony of phlegmatic and tubercular lungs was punctuated here and there by a moan or a scream of someone terrified, thrashing in the throes of a nightmare. —Ronald Gearles, Undoing Time, 2001
4. Seething gas just beneath the sun's visible surface generates a cacophony of sound waves that ring the sun like a giant bell. —R. Cowen, Science News, 18 Mar. 2000
5. Shell casings littered the highway, where a cacophony of car alarms and sobbing rent the winter air. —Jeff Stein, GQ, December 1997
6. … no matter how forbearing he might have been, there were times when he simply needed to escape that cacophony of piping voices … —T. Coraghessan Boyle, The Road to Wellville, 1993

Origin of CACOPHONY

(see cacophonous)

First Known Use: circa 1656

Related to CACOPHONY

Synonyms

babel, blare, bluster, bowwow, brawl, bruit [archaic], noise, chatter, clamor, clangor, decibel(s), din, discordance, katzenjammer, racket, rattle, roar

Antonyms

quiet, silence, silentness, still, stillness

Related Words

discord, dissonance; commotion, furor, hubbub, hullabaloo, hurly-burly, rumpus, tumult, uproar; clatter, jangle; bang, blast, boom, clap, crack, crash

Near Antonyms

calm, hush, lull; quietude, serenity, tranquillity (or tranquility)

Other Music Terms

chorister, concerto, counterpoint, madrigal, obbligato, presto, presto, refrain, riff, segue

Rhymes with CACOPHONY

colophony, homophony, monophony, theophany