as in shrill
marked by or producing a harsh combination of sounds
a dissonant chorus of noises arose from the busy construction site
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Recent Examples of dissonant
Jonny Greenwood’s score moves between soaring strings and dissonant piano keys, alternately soothing and anxious; a few pieces composed by Jon Brion add an ambient layer of wistfulness.
—
Katie Walsh, Twin Cities, 26 Sep. 2025
Jonny Greenwood’s score moves between soaring strings and dissonant piano keys, alternately soothing and anxious; a few pieces composed by Jon Brion add an ambient layer of wistfulness.
—Katie Walsh, Boston Herald, 25 Sep. 2025
As someone who built her career by upending traditional dynamics and giving women more control over their interactions online, having no say in how her own story is told feels dissonant.
—Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 20 Sep. 2025
Better-than-forecast retail sales for August out Tuesday contributed a sturdy reading to a dissonant set of macroeconomic signals.
—Michael Santoli, CNBC, 16 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dissonant
Katie Walsh, Twin Cities, 26 Sep. 2025
Jonny Greenwood’s score moves between soaring strings and dissonant piano keys, alternately soothing and anxious; a few pieces composed by Jon Brion add an ambient layer of wistfulness.
—Katie Walsh, Boston Herald, 25 Sep. 2025
As someone who built her career by upending traditional dynamics and giving women more control over their interactions online, having no say in how her own story is told feels dissonant.
—Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 20 Sep. 2025
Better-than-forecast retail sales for August out Tuesday contributed a sturdy reading to a dissonant set of macroeconomic signals.
—Michael Santoli, CNBC, 16 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dissonant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dissonant
Adjective
-
There’s a straight line between the criminal investigation of Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell and increasingly shrill threats to seize Greenland.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
21 Jan. 2026
-
With sports gambling legalized throughout much of the country and growing rapidly, the NCAA and the sports gambling industry should be hearing shrill alarm bells in this indictment and acting accordingly.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
20 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Less mature organizations remain noisy.—
Alexander Puutio,
Forbes.com,
28 Jan. 2026
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Minnesota State Patrol troopers used a powerful sound system first used by the military in Maple Grove, Minnesota, to communicate and disperse noisy protesters.—
Derek James,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
This time, the commission’s bargaining position was undercut from the start by a cacophonous chorus, with key member states preemptively voicing their opposition to retaliation.—
Matthias Matthijs,
Foreign Affairs,
12 Dec. 2025
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By making the dialogue more cacophonous as the pressure mounts, Ottosson replicates the feelings of the characters, who have trained hundreds of times for various scenarios — but are now experiencing something that goes beyond their typical exercises.—
Jim Hemphill,
IndieWire,
26 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Using a speaker outside the stall results in reverb and echoing as the music bounces around the bathroom walls, making the sound muddy and unpleasant.—
BestReviews,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Jan. 2026
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Given the lack of gravity, even a runny nose can turn into an extremely unpleasant experience, forcing astronauts to resort to unusual measures just to drain mucus from their nasal passages.—
Victor Tangermann,
Futurism,
8 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
But Cialente also captures the discordant keys of a multigenerational household, from childlike angst to youthful rebellion to marital frustration.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Jan. 2026
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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
Adjective
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The actress donned a slinky metallic shift dress in her latest Instagram post in partnership with the skincare brand Shiseido.—
Emma Banks,
InStyle,
7 Jan. 2026
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Red flags included bitterness or any metallic notes the beans may have picked up during processing.—
Sam Stone,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
7 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Those songs remind Omara of real people and real events, political interludes whose senselessness and brutality have left unmusical lacunae in her life.—
Vinson Cunningham,
The New Yorker,
18 Dec. 2023
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His parents were unmusical Russian-Jewish immigrants who ran various businesses with mixed success.—
The Economist,
The Economist,
3 Oct. 2019
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
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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
“Dissonant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dissonant. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
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