1
as in shrill
marked by or producing a harsh combination of sounds
discordant tones coming from the poorly tuned instrument
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in noisy
making loud, confused, and usually unharmonious sounds
the discordant cries of gulls fighting over the fishing boat's castoffs
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in aggressive
feeling or displaying eagerness to fight
a troubled, discordant family that would benefit from professional counseling
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in conflicting
not being in agreement or harmony
his views on the proper role of diet in maintaining good health are certainly discordant with most contemporary opinions on the subject
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of discordant
Baumbach’s remarkably faithful take on Don DeLillo’s absurdist 1985 novel is a half-thrilling, half-discordant attempt to harmonize two distinct voices.
—
Scott Tobias, Vulture, 5 Dec. 2025
The film has a way of connecting discordant wavelengths — past and future, memory and experience, reality and fiction — that's as existentially haunting as anything in recent genre history.
—Dennis Perkins, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Oct. 2025
What happened to me was a discordant event in my life.
—Brittany Spanos, Rolling Stone, 31 Oct. 2025
Deliver Me from Nowhere focuses on Bruce Springsteen in the midst of a depressive episode, struggling to create something meaningful and finite, while suicidal ideation plays discordant sounds in his head.
—Richard Newby, HollywoodReporter, 29 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for discordant
Scott Tobias, Vulture, 5 Dec. 2025
The film has a way of connecting discordant wavelengths — past and future, memory and experience, reality and fiction — that's as existentially haunting as anything in recent genre history.
—Dennis Perkins, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Oct. 2025
What happened to me was a discordant event in my life.
—Brittany Spanos, Rolling Stone, 31 Oct. 2025
Deliver Me from Nowhere focuses on Bruce Springsteen in the midst of a depressive episode, struggling to create something meaningful and finite, while suicidal ideation plays discordant sounds in his head.
—Richard Newby, HollywoodReporter, 29 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for discordant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for discordant
Adjective
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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
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Some cymbal hits came across as slightly shrill thanks to the high-mid emphasis.—
Christian de Looper,
PC Magazine,
23 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The experience of Gando will also enrich a timber day-care center now going up on a noisy street in Munich.—
Justin Davidson,
Curbed,
1 Apr. 2026
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Greg Bovino, Border Patrol’s former commander at large, with the big coat that definitely does not give off a Nazi vibe, got one of the noisiest, rock-star receptions at CPAC when he was brought on stage by podcaster Benny Johnson.—
Rob Crilly,
The Washington Examiner,
30 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Brvenik, 44, was diagnosed in 2024 with leiomyosarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer.—
Max Klaver,
Miami Herald,
31 Mar. 2026
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Your sense of self takes the lead as the Moon, presently in your sign, opposes aggressive Mars across your partnership zone.—
Tarot.com,
New York Daily News,
31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Following the events of A Palace Near the Wind, Liu Lufeng and her siblings flee the Palace for the dangerous waters, which contain rebels, allies, and her sister Sangshu—though Sangshu’s conflicting loyalties may clash with Lufeng’s plan to keep them all safe.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 Apr. 2026
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The legal conversation is settled, and far more explicit than other consequential decisions in which the court must weigh potentially conflicting precedents and nebulous congressional intent.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
1 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The Brooklyn psych-folk artist’s 2025 debut, newly reissued by AD 93, is dissonant, ghostly, and otherworldly, summoning complex emotions with sparse tools.—
Vrinda Jagota,
Pitchfork,
19 Mar. 2026
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The contrast of the narrative established by the plates is comparable to jazz music, with its rhythm and repetition broken up by unexpected and sometimes dissonant improvisations, the Art Institute said.—
Adam Harrington,
CBS News,
3 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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In Lebanon, where Israel has started an invasion in the south while targeting the Hezbollah militant group, officials said more than 1,100 people have been killed in the country since the start of the war.—
Sam Metz,
Fortune,
29 Mar. 2026
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He was killed in southern Lebanon, a stronghold of the militant group Hezbollah, as Israel expands an invasion there.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
29 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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For the first half on Friday night, Angel City Football Club was turning in one of those inconsistent performances that Coach Alex Straus expected would happen this season with a young team.—
Damian Calhoun,
Daily News,
28 Mar. 2026
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As is often the case for 23-year-olds pushed into large roles, Podziemski has been inconsistent.—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
28 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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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
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For sixteen hours a week, Valentine hopes to share some melody in a place that, for some, can feel inharmonious.—
Washington Post,
Washington Post,
24 July 2021
Cite this Entry
“Discordant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/discordant. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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