cacophonous

adjective ca·coph·o·nous \ ka-ˈkä-fə-nəs , -ˈkȯ- also -ˈka- \

Definition of cacophonous

:marked by cacophony :harsh-sounding

like an old battlefield, once cacophonous with the clash of steel, the roar of cannon, the screams of wounded and dying men
—Brian Moore

—

cacophonously

adverb

Examples of cacophonous in a Sentence

the cacophonous chaos on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange

Recent Examples of cacophonous from the Web

Each of these experiences reverberates through the halls, part of the cacophonous concerto of post-Katrina fandom.

— rafi kohan, GQ, "The Ghosts of the New Orleans Superdome," 9 Aug. 2017
Frank Guenther was struck by how one particular signal came through unusually clearly against the cacophonous background of neural activity.

— charlie wood, The Christian Science Monitor, "Robot communication: It's more than just talk," 2 Aug. 2017
My heart was sinking, each string plucked again and again in cacophonous fury.

— trésor prijs, Teen Vogue, "How My Beard Affects My Gender Identity as a Trans Femme," 13 July 2017
The high energy and cacophonous, somewhat snug, nature of LouVino’s Highlands outpost is traded in for roomy, wing back chairs and wide booths of the Middletown location.

— lindsey mcclave, The Courier-Journal, "LouVino Douglass Hills is good, but not living up to full potential | Review," 12 July 2017
Give me this cacophonous, clumsy, glorious mess over any Legion or American Gods or whatever other furious nonsense is happening elsewhere any day.

— richard lawson, VanityFair.com, "Orange Is the New Black Still Packs a Punch—but the Future Looks Murky," 14 June 2017
But therapists involved in such programs speculate that their benefits actually derive from shutting down for a time some of our brain’s higher and sometimes cacophonous cognitive functions.

— photographs by ilona szwarc and text by charles siebert, New York Times, "Why Close Encounters With Animals Soothe Us," 18 May 2017
The cacophonous and often intoxicating Hot 8 Brass Band from New Orleans (who can be as reminiscent of the Sun Ra Arkestra as a Dixieland group) will appear, as will trumpeter-bandleader Christian Scott.

— bret saunders, The Know, "Jazz: Eliane Elias plays off Dazzle; Christian Scott to play free show downtown," 14 May 2017
Nobody could be sure whether the cacophonous squawks emanating from Coleman’s white plastic alto sax were the sounds of groundbreaking genius or the flailings of an unschooled provocateur.

— julian sancton, Billboard, "Remembering Jazz's Greatest Year With the Living Legends of 1959," 5 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cacophonous.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of cacophonous

Greek kakophōnos, from kak- + phōnē voice, sound — more at ban

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1782

See Words from the same year

cacophonous Synonyms

Synonyms

dissonant, discordant, inharmonious, unmelodious, unmusical, unvocal

Antonyms

harmonious, harmonizing, melodious, musical

Related Words

blaring, clanging, clangorous, clashing, clattering, dinning, grating, harsh, jangling, jangly, jarring, metallic, noisy, raspy, raucous, scratching, screeching, shrill, squeaky, strident; disagreeable, unpleasant, unpleasing; atonal, off-key, tuneless; resounding, sonorous; clamorous, uproarious

Near Antonyms

dulcet, euphonious, mellifluent, mellifluous, mellow, melodic, sweet, tuneful; resonant, sonorous; quavering, trilling, warbling; agreeable, appealing, pleasant; cadenced, lilting, lyric, lyrical, rhythmic (or rhythmical); chordal, harmonic, homophonic, orchestral, polyphonic (or polyphonous), symphonic, symphonious, tonal; calm, hushed; noiseless, quiet, silent, soundless, still

Other Music Terms

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

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cacophonous

Definition of cacophonous

cacophonously

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cacophonous

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cacophonously

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