as in shrill
marked by or producing a harsh combination of sounds
I awoke to the unmelodious clatter of jackhammers at the construction site next door
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unmelodious
Adjective
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There’s also a large cast of supporting characters, many called upon to strike shrill notes of hostility.—
Dennis Harvey,
Variety,
6 June 2025 -
The warnings start coming in, first shrill alarms from our cellphones alerting us of a tornado warning, and then the stirring call of tornado-warning sirens outside of the windows.—
Colleen Hagerty,
Rolling Stone,
27 July 2025
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
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Prior to and after the ruling, a small but noisy crowd spent those fateful hours chanting in support outside the PJ headquarters in San Telmo, a nearby Buenos Aires neighborhood, many of whom followed her back to Calle San José that frigid night.—
Agustino Fontevecchia,
Forbes.com,
27 Aug. 2025
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Living in a downstairs apartment can be challenging, especially with noisy upstairs neighbors.—
Maria Morava,
MSNBC Newsweek,
26 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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His new film, Highest 2 Lowest, which opened Friday, flips Akira Kurosawa’s mannered 1963 staple, High and Low, into a rowdy, topical, laugh-out-loud romp (starring Denzel Washington, Jeffrey Wright, and A$AP Rocky) that’s as beautifully jarring as a dissonant sax solo.—
Will Dukes,
Rolling Stone,
17 Aug. 2025
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Still, the moody, dissonant synths were transfixing.—
Hazlitt,
Hazlitt,
30 July 2025
Adjective
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A couple who had moved into a new apartment a couple of hours earlier got an unpleasant surprise after returning from a celebratory dinner.—
Jack Beresford,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 Aug. 2025
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There are many financial benefits to property ownership, but that also means bills, repairs, maintenance and a number of other unpleasant surprises.—
Steve Jahnke,
Kansas City Star,
21 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Cramming his wide screen with the comings and goings of a 24-character ensemble, Altman creates an incredible, cacophonous entertainment, equal parts comedy and tragedy, featuring terrific original songs and an unforgettable ending.—
Samantha Bergeson,
IndieWire,
18 July 2025
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This year's trip to Thailand was an exercise in incivility and taboo-breaking, a cacophonous symphony of troubled souls colliding amid Mai Tais and monkeys.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
12 June 2025
Adjective
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New World screwworms are the parasitic larva of a metallic blue blow fly species called Cochliomyia hominivorax.—
Jamie Gumbrecht,
CNN Money,
25 Aug. 2025
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Japanese Beetles Japanese beetles have metallic green bodies with coppery wings.—
Arricca Elin SanSone,
Southern Living,
24 Aug. 2025
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
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Cite this Entry
“Unmelodious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unmelodious. Accessed 31 Aug. 2025.
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