cacophonous

adjective

ca·​coph·​o·​nous ka-ˈkä-fə-nəs 

-ˈkȯ-

also -ˈka-

: 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

Synonyms of cacophonous

• shrill
• dissonant
• noisy
• unpleasant

Examples of cacophonous in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples on the Web

Tuesday evening’s event didn’t devolve into the chaos of a cacophonous debate last week but was far livelier than a relatively sleepy one last month. —Ben Paviour may 6, Sacbee.com, 6 May 2026

Yet a cacophonous encore is now playing across the South after a Supreme Court ruling last week. —ABC News, 6 May 2026

Fabric And Texture Color and pattern aren’t the only visual aspects that can stand between a cohesive look and one that seems like a cacophonous scene. —Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 27 Apr. 2026

The space was by turns eerily quiet and wildly cacophonous. —Elisabeth Rosenthal, Miami Herald, 24 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin cacophōnus (borrowed from Greek kakóphōnos "disagreeable-sounding," from kako- caco- + -phōnos "having a sound [of the kind specified]," adjective derivative of phōnḗ "sound made by something living, voice, speech") + -ous — more at phono-

First Known Use

1782, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for cacophonous

• saphenous