as in shrill
marked by or producing a harsh combination of sounds
a very unmusical chorus of squawks from the angry ravens
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of unmusical
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
His parents were unmusical Russian-Jewish immigrants who ran various businesses with mixed success.
—The Economist, 3 Oct. 2019
Paradoxically, then, the man most involved in the development of the electric guitar was the unmusical Leo Fender.
—David Kirby, WSJ, 17 Jan. 2019
The controversy of Schoenberg’s serialist works—the overwhelming reaction to them as ugly, nightmarish, simply unmusical—shows how firmly tonality had come to condition habits of listening.
—Paul Grimstad, The New Republic, 21 June 2018
Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 18 Dec. 2023
His parents were unmusical Russian-Jewish immigrants who ran various businesses with mixed success.
—The Economist, 3 Oct. 2019
Paradoxically, then, the man most involved in the development of the electric guitar was the unmusical Leo Fender.
—David Kirby, WSJ, 17 Jan. 2019
The controversy of Schoenberg’s serialist works—the overwhelming reaction to them as ugly, nightmarish, simply unmusical—shows how firmly tonality had come to condition habits of listening.
—Paul Grimstad, The New Republic, 21 June 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unmusical
Adjective
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Arriving in January, the California Post will be Murdoch’s transplant of his right-leaning tabloid the New York Post, replete with shrill headlines and randy gossip.—
Peter Bart,
Deadline,
11 Sep. 2025
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One option is to simply double down on the existing approach and become shriller.—
Robert G. Eccles,
Forbes.com,
11 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Weber installed bars in multiple disparate locations, and although the bars themselves did display signs of significant amounts of noise, Weber looked for correlations in these noisy signals between bars in different locations.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
7 Nov. 2025
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With fewer people having children, empathy toward parents—and patience for noisy, curious kids—has waned.—
Daniella Gray,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The duo moved around notes to create a sound that was dissonant, amplifying the disgusting effect.—
Jazz Tangcay,
Variety,
20 Oct. 2025
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But Roofman, which Cianfrance also co-wrote, was clearly intended to be lighter fare and instead ends up in this dissonant in-between space tonally.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Its natural deodorizing properties help neutralize the unpleasant smells associated with pets, according to Stein.—
Daley Quinn,
Southern Living,
1 Nov. 2025
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The 75-year-old ginkgo trees have been wafting the unpleasant smell into the air at the Northern California park, forcing residents to brave the stench that is comparable to vomit, The Sacramento Bee and SFGATE report.—
Natalia Senanayake,
PEOPLE,
30 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Instead of pooling, the liquid copper became trapped within this solid framework, producing a gel-like metallic structure that retained its shape.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
4 Nov. 2025
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For example, there’s a merino sweater with metallic cuffs, retailing for $950, a stretch sequin pencil skirt for $2,200, a leopard stretch velvet dress for $1,150, a doubleface satin gown with feathers for $2,250 and a wool coat with marabou trim for $3,250, among others.—
Lisa Lockwood,
Footwear News,
3 Nov. 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
Adjective
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Fried and the cacophonous home crowd in his proverbial corner, were a lethal combination for the Yankees in the first six innings.—
Gabrielle Starr,
Boston Herald,
1 Oct. 2025
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Bowling at run-hungry batters on largely unforgiving pitches in vast, cacophonous stadiums with huge outfields in front of a partisan and at times baying crowd — plenty of English bowlers have found bowling in Australia akin to a Sisyphean task.—
James Wallace,
New York Times,
22 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unmusical.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unmusical. Accessed 11 Nov. 2025.
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