as in discords
a lack of agreement or harmony
the dissonance between what we are told and what we see with our own eyes
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Recent Examples of dissonances
With a laugh, the British native charmingly embraces any international dissonances in play.
—
Christopher Smith, Oc Register, 27 May 2026
Instruments and voices accumulate into immense, sustained, saturating dissonances, with a snare drum cutting through the tear-gas haze.
—Alex Ross, New Yorker, 18 May 2026
From Zehetmair’s searching dissonances, the SPCO moved into Brahms’ Double Concerto, performed by concertmaster Steven Copes and principal cello Julie Albers.
—Sheila Regan, Twin Cities, 13 Sep. 2025
Although the relocation of a very Nordic communitarian milieu to a British setting creates its own cultural dissonances, the end result is a nifty ethical puzzle about balancing the needs of individuals versus those of the community.
—Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 7 Sep. 2025
Christopher Smith, Oc Register, 27 May 2026
Instruments and voices accumulate into immense, sustained, saturating dissonances, with a snare drum cutting through the tear-gas haze.
—Alex Ross, New Yorker, 18 May 2026
From Zehetmair’s searching dissonances, the SPCO moved into Brahms’ Double Concerto, performed by concertmaster Steven Copes and principal cello Julie Albers.
—Sheila Regan, Twin Cities, 13 Sep. 2025
Although the relocation of a very Nordic communitarian milieu to a British setting creates its own cultural dissonances, the end result is a nifty ethical puzzle about balancing the needs of individuals versus those of the community.
—Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 7 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dissonances
Noun
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Your dedicated Slack channels, private discords and endless Reddit threads.—
April Uchitel,
Flow Space,
6 Aug. 2025
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In every case, physical science, which is based on the evidence reported by these limited and limiting senses, eventually leaves us stranded with the conviction that sickness, accidents, and disasters – discords of every description, regardless of the apparent cause – are real and inevitable.—
Lisa Rennie Sytsma,
Christian Science Monitor,
20 June 2025
Noun
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Tensions between Rian and Patrick flare when Rian drunkenly mentions a brief fling with Shiv, though the film’s clunky edit, which gives little room for the performances to breathe and play out organically within their contexts, makes these frictions feel stilted and juvenile.—
Beatrice Loayza,
Variety,
22 May 2026
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Outcomes announced so far also spotlight where daylight and frictions continue to exist.—
Simone McCarthy,
CNN Money,
18 May 2026
Noun
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From Xi Jinping’s quest to regain China’s glory, to Vladimir Putin’s attempts at a new Russian empire, to the rise of populist anti-foreign attitudes in the United States, Britain, Germany, and France, negative views of others underpin many of the conflicts in today’s world.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 May 2026
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Aside from being combat-proven in multiple modern conflicts, Turkish homegrown drones are also a leading competitor of Israel’s on the international arms market.—
Paul Iddon,
Forbes.com,
26 May 2026
Noun
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Given the schisms, some in the GOP believe only a single party-line bill may end up passing before November.—
Burgess Everett,
semafor.com,
9 Apr. 2026
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But over the past decade or so, major schisms have emerged.—
Andy Greene,
Rolling Stone,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
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But Great Power wars are more destructive than others because of their intensity and scale, because of the weapons used, and because of their tendency to spread.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 May 2026
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Trump has ignited various trade wars, and keeps talking up a possible conflict with Cuba.—
Tom Nichols,
The Atlantic,
26 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dissonances.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dissonances. Accessed 2 Jun. 2026.
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