DIS-CORD Synonyms: 93 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How does the noun 'discord' contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of discord are conflict , contention , dissension , strife , and variance . While all these words mean "a state or condition marked by a lack of agreement or harmony," discord implies an intrinsic or essential lack of harmony producing quarreling, factiousness, or antagonism. // a political party long racked by discord

Q: When can 'conflict' be used instead of 'discord'?

The words conflict and discord can be used in similar contexts, but conflict usually stresses the action of forces in opposition but in static applications implies an irreconcilability as of duties or desires. // the conflict of freedom and responsibility

Q: When is it sensible to use 'contention' instead of 'discord'?

The meanings of contention and discord largely overlap; however, contention applies to strife or competition that shows itself in quarreling, disputing, or controversy. // several points of contention about the new zoning law

Q: When would 'dissension' be a good substitute for 'discord'?

In some situations, the words dissension and discord are roughly equivalent. However, dissension implies strife or discord and stresses a division into factions. // religious dissension threatened to split the colony

Q: When could 'strife' be used to replace 'discord'?

While the synonyms strife and discord are close in meaning, strife emphasizes a struggle for superiority rather than the incongruity or incompatibility of the persons or things involved. // during his brief reign the empire was never free of civil strife

Q: When is 'variance' a more appropriate choice than 'discord'?

Although the words variance and discord have much in common, variance implies a clash between persons or things owing to a difference in nature, opinion, or interest. // cultural variances that work against a national identity

discord 1 of 2

noun

ˈdi-ˌskȯrd

Definition of discord

as in strife

a lack of agreement or harmony the discord between two of the members threatened to tear our team of researchers apart

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

discord

2 of 2

verb

ˈdi-ˌskȯrd

as in to conflict

to be out of harmony or agreement usually noticeably the evangelist's lavish lifestyle discords with his professed religious beliefs

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun discord contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of discord are conflict, contention, dissension, strife, and variance. While all these words mean "a state or condition marked by a lack of agreement or harmony," discord implies an intrinsic or essential lack of harmony producing quarreling, factiousness, or antagonism.

a political party long racked by discord

When can conflict be used instead of discord?

The words conflict and discord can be used in similar contexts, but conflict usually stresses the action of forces in opposition but in static applications implies an irreconcilability as of duties or desires.

the conflict of freedom and responsibility

When is it sensible to use contention instead of discord?

The meanings of contention and discord largely overlap; however, contention applies to strife or competition that shows itself in quarreling, disputing, or controversy.

several points of contention about the new zoning law

When would dissension be a good substitute for discord?

In some situations, the words dissension and discord are roughly equivalent. However, dissension implies strife or discord and stresses a division into factions.

religious dissension threatened to split the colony

When could strife be used to replace discord?

While the synonyms strife and discord are close in meaning, strife emphasizes a struggle for superiority rather than the incongruity or incompatibility of the persons or things involved.

during his brief reign the empire was never free of civil strife

When is variance a more appropriate choice than discord?

Although the words variance and discord have much in common, variance implies a clash between persons or things owing to a difference in nature, opinion, or interest.

cultural variances that work against a national identity

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of discord

Noun

After a 3-1 defeat to Crystal Palace in March, which was triggered by Micky van de Ven’s red card just before half-time, Tudor hinted at discord in the dressing room. — Jay Harris, New York Times, 27 May 2026 Today, the entire country faces far too much discord. — Steven D. Reske, Chicago Tribune, 24 May 2026 After the meeting, in a sign of discord among the caucus, GOP leadership dropped plans to have a series of votes on a package that would fund immigration enforcement agencies within the Department of Homeland Security. — Dan Mangan,kevin Breuninger, CNBC, 22 May 2026 Failing to ensure employee differences are properly managed will lead to greater conflict, discord and chaos in your workplace, which will hurt the viability of any company. — Janice Gassam Asare, Forbes.com, 18 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for discord

Recent Examples of Synonyms for discord

Noun

When her parents — the wonderful June Diane Raphael and Tom Everett Scott — fall into professional reputational strife, the family is forced to relocate to Seattle to rebuild their lives.

— Scarlett Harris, IndieWire, 6 July 2026
But labor strife here is spilling off of the docks and into City Hall, with political implications for Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, himself a former labor organizer who is expected to run for reelection in less than a year.

— Talia Soglin, Chicago Tribune, 5 July 2026

Definition of strife

Verb

Under new head coach Herbert, Canada Basketball has insisted that players be available to the team, if not necessarily to play, during windows that do not conflict with the NBA season.

— Eric Koreen, New York Times, 4 July 2026
Taking so many positions means the president can’t be fully wrong while letting the public fix on different, albeit often conflicting, statements that can reinforce their own beliefs.

— Will Weissert, Fortune, 2 July 2026

Definition of conflict

Noun

Other insiders dispute this characterization, saying Gunn, Safran and Gillespie had the normal amount of healthy friction any filmmaker and studio have as part of the process of making a movie better.

— Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 3 July 2026
The energy is stored as rotational momentum in an environment of near-zero friction.

— Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 3 July 2026

Definition of friction

Noun

Part of that discordance might be the fact that as a genre, rock has historically been difficult to define.

— Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 19 Nov. 2025
The songs bounce from discordance and disorientation to harmoniousness and repose — even in the uneasy moments, the songs don't sink.

— Audrey Gibbs, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025

Definition of discordance

Noun

The Vatican said dialogue was offered to the group ahead of the schism and that the step of ordaining bishops without ⁠church approval was considered so grave that excommunication was automatic.

— Reuters, NBC news, 5 July 2026
Parishioners at Saint Agnes said they were saddened by the schism and would continue to pray for a united church.

— ABC News, ABC News, 3 July 2026

Definition of schism

Noun

And components like steel, aluminium and copper coming from other parts of the globe recently were impacted by the Iran war.

— Anu Raghunathan, Forbes.com, 9 July 2026
As Trump confronts Iran war tensions at the NATO summit in Turkey, he is also set to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is expected to press for more sanctions on Russia and speedier access to American defense systems.

— Jamie Gray, NBC news, 9 July 2026

Definition of war

Noun

The shortages have led to rare demonstrations of dissent, with Russian President Vladimir Putin facing political pressure.

— Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 9 July 2026
And so the disturbing part of the dissent in the mail ballot case was that this was about a very narrow issue, whether ballots that are postmarked by Election Day can be counted if they're received in some period after.

— Tonya Mosley, NPR, 8 July 2026

Definition of dissent

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“Discord.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/discord. Accessed 11 Jul. 2026.

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