discordant
adjective
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Discord, a word more common in earlier centuries than today, means basically "conflict", so discordant often means "conflicting". The opinions of Supreme Court justices are frequently discordant; justices who disagree with the Court's decision usually write a dissenting opinion. Discordant is often used with a somewhat musical meaning, suggesting that a single wrong note or harmony has been heard in the middle of a performance—even though musical words such as chord actually come from a different Latin word, meaning "cord" or "string" (a reference to the strings of ancient instruments such as the lyre).
Examples of discordant in a Sentence
Andy Andersen, Vulture, 18 Apr. 2025
The play’s piano-and-strings compositions, by Grant Olding, closely recall Nicholas Britell’s discordant TV soundtrack; Richard wears sumptuous suits and velvet loafers without socks, then goes to prison in comfy gray sweats, sporting quiet luxury to the end.
—Helen Shaw, New Yorker, 17 Apr. 2025
On a day that had long been in the books as a tribute to Kevin Keegan, the manager who saved the club from oblivion, dragged it into the Premier League and opened up a world of possibilities, there was a discordant kind of symmetry.
—Chris Waugh, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025
But even among the top ranks, there were discordant views.
—Carly Flandro, Idaho Statesman, 4 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for discordant
Cite this Entry
“Discordant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/discordant. Accessed 20 May. 2025.
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discordant
adjective
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