1
as in shrill
marked by or producing a harsh combination of sounds
discordant tones coming from the poorly tuned instrument
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 discordant
This constant barrage of discordant, unexpected, and often troubling news tends to distract us and erode our concentration.
—
Alissa Quart, TIME, 13 Mar. 2025
This constant barrage of discordant, unexpected, and often troubling news tends to distract us and erode our concentration.
—Alissa Quart, TIME, 13 Mar. 2025
If the past 50 years of scores were all about boundless emotionality, these newer scores are pulsing and discordant — closer to Steve Reich or Karlheinz Stockhausen than European Romantic composers like Beethoven or first-generation Americans like Leonard Bernstein.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 27 Feb. 2025
Over a pleasantly discordant score of dreamy electronic chords and twanging banjos, Matthew finds pencil marks charting his growth as a child while these parents fuss over their own new baby.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 13 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for discordant
Alissa Quart, TIME, 13 Mar. 2025
This constant barrage of discordant, unexpected, and often troubling news tends to distract us and erode our concentration.
—Alissa Quart, TIME, 13 Mar. 2025
If the past 50 years of scores were all about boundless emotionality, these newer scores are pulsing and discordant — closer to Steve Reich or Karlheinz Stockhausen than European Romantic composers like Beethoven or first-generation Americans like Leonard Bernstein.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 27 Feb. 2025
Over a pleasantly discordant score of dreamy electronic chords and twanging banjos, Matthew finds pencil marks charting his growth as a child while these parents fuss over their own new baby.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 13 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for discordant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for discordant
Adjective
-
Their bathroom floor also pooled with water after showering, and noise from other apartments, like the shrill beeps of a low-battery smoke detector next door, carried through the paper-thin walls.—
Matthew Sedacca,
Curbed,
22 Apr. 2025
-
As such, The Studio is shrill and talky, its chaotic scenes sparked by random performers like Charlize Theron, Zac Efron, Olivia Wilde and Sarah Polley, all of whom want something from Remick.—
Peter Bart,
Deadline,
10 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
For example, secondary insomnia can develop due to issues such as chronic pain, a noisy environment, or stress about finances.—
Smita Patel,
Verywell Health,
28 Apr. 2025
-
In a noisy job market, your personal brand, digital presence, and network are critical assets.—
Sho Dewan,
Forbes.com,
27 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
But in recent weeks, Musk dramatically lowered his taxpayer savings estimates from DOGE's government cuts, disagreed publicly with Trump's aggressive tariff policies and butted heads with multiple Trump officials, some publicly, revealing divisions within the White House over Musk's influence.—
Joey Garrison,
USA Today,
30 Apr. 2025
-
But last year, he was diagnosed with Richter’s Syndrome, another aggressive form of lymphoma, just before he was set to embark on a set of U.S. shows.—
Ethan Millman,
HollywoodReporter,
29 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
These are two starkly conflicting therapeutic pieces of advice.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
22 Apr. 2025
-
The tallest sediment stack The mystery of Mars’ missing carbon stems from two seemingly conflicting results.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
18 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
The major-sevenths, by stuffing four notes into the chords, offered greater harmonic options, and Sikes was determined to take advantage of them, encouraging Wayne to incorporate the dissonant notes into her high harmonies.—
Tom Roland,
Billboard,
22 Apr. 2025
-
And there’s a blunt, pulp poetry to Manny’s conclusion (if not a particularly sensitive one), driven to despair by an inability to live in the dissonant but very real space between one’s religious moral compass and the realities of one’s life.—
Andy Andersen,
Vulture,
18 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
The attack at Pahalgam on Tuesday was claimed by The Resistance Front (TRF), which is an offshoot of Pakistan's Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Apr. 2025
-
While the Pulwama attack was claimed by the militant Islamist group Jaish-e-Mohammed and targeted security personnel, the one on Tuesday involved unarmed civilians, and any claims of responsibility have been vague and unverified.—
Salman Masood,
New York Times,
24 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Even so, the practice of choosing a papal name remained inconsistent for the next 1,000 years, with most popes using their baptismal names.—
Christopher Watson,
ABC News,
21 Apr. 2025
-
After an inconsistent first half of the season, manager Unai Emery has found a way of tinkering with Villa’s line-up and still winning.—
Chris Waugh,
New York Times,
21 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
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
-
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 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share