discordant

adjective

dis·​cor·​dant di-ˈskȯr-dᵊnt 

1

a

: being at variance : disagreeing

discordant opinions

b

: quarrelsome

a discordant family

2

music : relating to a discord (see discord entry 1 sense 2)

a discordant tone

discordantly adverb

Did you know?

Discord, a word more common in earlier centuries than today, means basically "conflict", so discordant often means "conflicting". The opinions of Supreme Court justices are frequently discordant; justices who disagree with the Court's decision usually write a dissenting opinion. Discordant is often used with a somewhat musical meaning, suggesting that a single wrong note or harmony has been heard in the middle of a performance—even though musical words such as chord actually come from a different Latin word, meaning "cord" or "string" (a reference to the strings of ancient instruments such as the lyre).

Synonyms

• cacophonous
• dissonant
• inharmonious
• unmelodious
• unmusical
• unvocal

Examples of discordant in a Sentence

She has the difficult task of bringing together a number of discordant elements.

discordant tones coming from the poorly tuned instrument

Recent Examples on the Web

The presence of the disruptive once and future President alongside all four of his living predecessors was as discordant as any moment at an American state funeral, with its grand rituals meant to unify and salve, could be. —Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 9 Jan. 2025

The moment of levity was discordant with Rose's speech. —Melissa Brown, The Tennessean, 3 June 2024

Better Man ends on a several notes, some discordant, of forgiveness regarding both father and son, which admittedly tests your tolerance for sentimentality. —David Fear, Rolling Stone, 25 Dec. 2024

The only discordant note is a random insert when Samuel spies on Romy through her office window. —Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 24 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

see discord entry 2

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

discordant

adjective

dis·​cord·​ant

dis-ˈkȯrd-ᵊnt

1

a

: not being in agreement

discordant opinions

b

: quarrelsome

a discordant family

2

: relating to or producing a discord

discordant music

discordantly adverb

Medical Definition

discordant

adjective

dis·​cor·​dant dis-ˈkȯrd-ᵊnt 

of twins

: dissimilar with respect to one or more particular characters compare concordant

discordance

-ᵊn(t)s 

noun