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
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3
as in aggressive
feeling or displaying eagerness to fight
a troubled, discordant family that would benefit from professional counseling
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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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of discordant
But our peace – our faith and trust in ever-present God, divine Love – does affect circumstances and can heal a discordant situation.
—
Madora Kibbe, Christian Science Monitor, 19 Dec. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for discordant
Madora Kibbe, Christian Science Monitor, 19 Dec. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for discordant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for discordant
Adjective
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On shrill winter nights, Moscow’s power is conspicuous, its Orthodox cathedrals and Stalinist high-rises illuminated, though the view falls dim in the autumn and spring, shrouded in sheets of greige.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Apr. 2026
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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
Adjective
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Both teachers stood with their classes last week during the noisy Thursday pep rally, smiling through most of the ceremony.—
Noah Alcala Bach,
San Antonio Express-News,
6 Apr. 2026
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Sennheiser Noise-Canceling Headphones Deal The Sennheiser Momentum 4 headphones are the ultimate delete button for a noisy world.—
Juhi Wadia,
PC Magazine,
3 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Orbán's nationalist party has become a model for MAGA populists, particularly for its aggressive stance on immigration.—
Hannah Demissie,
ABC News,
7 Apr. 2026
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Florian Wirtz was over aggressive in his initial press and then lacked urgency to help balance out City’s right-side overload, while neither Curtis Jones or Ryan Gravenberch drifted across.—
Andy Jones,
New York Times,
7 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Over the past 48 hours, officials involved in negotiations gave conflicting statements about whether Lebanon is included in the ceasefire.—
Nadeen Ebrahim,
CNN Money,
9 Apr. 2026
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Despite the unanswered questions and conflicting comments throughout the afternoon, markets had an overwhelmingly positive response to the news.—
Steve Kopack,
NBC news,
8 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Eisenberg plays a lot of acoustic guitar, sticks mostly to normie chords, and largely avoids dissonant tangles, opting for a bright, translucent sound.—
Reed Jackson,
SPIN,
6 Apr. 2026
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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
Adjective
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Israel wants Lebanon's government to assume responsibility for disarming Hezbollah, but the militant group has survived efforts to curb its strength for decades.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
12 Apr. 2026
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But the militant group has survived efforts to curb its strength for decades.—
E. Eduardo Castillo,
Fortune,
12 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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In addition to reinforcing the fiduciary standards that are already in place for community associations, this will help to establish stronger grounds for claims involving unilateral acts by directors, inadequate reserve planning, inconsistent rules enforcement, or failures in management oversight.—
Evonne Andris,
Miami Herald,
9 Apr. 2026
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Maybe—but the effects are likely to be modest and inconsistent.—
Patricia Weiser,
Verywell Health,
9 Apr. 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 14 Apr. 2026.
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