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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of dissonant
Relationships between objects are often obscure, dissonant.
—
Jeremy Lybarger, ARTnews.com, 6 Jan. 2025
Some of the show's jazziest songs brought the listeners to unexpected places with funky dissonant sounds, instrumental solos and key changes.
—Audrey Gibbs, The Tennessean, 5 Nov. 2024
Centuries of grime has been wiped away to reveal an immaculate but aesthetically dissonant house of worship: a Gothic church that glistens.
—Joshua Berlinger, CNN, 7 Dec. 2024
Just as the concert’s success depends on most musicians playing correctly despite a few dissonant notes, a blockchain’s integrity relies on honest nodes reaching consensus even when some nodes fail or act maliciously.
—Gary Weinstein, Forbes, 22 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for dissonant 
Jeremy Lybarger, ARTnews.com, 6 Jan. 2025
Some of the show's jazziest songs brought the listeners to unexpected places with funky dissonant sounds, instrumental solos and key changes.
—Audrey Gibbs, The Tennessean, 5 Nov. 2024
Centuries of grime has been wiped away to reveal an immaculate but aesthetically dissonant house of worship: a Gothic church that glistens.
—Joshua Berlinger, CNN, 7 Dec. 2024
Just as the concert’s success depends on most musicians playing correctly despite a few dissonant notes, a blockchain’s integrity relies on honest nodes reaching consensus even when some nodes fail or act maliciously.
—Gary Weinstein, Forbes, 22 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for dissonant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dissonant
Adjective
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What about the shrill speculations that nefarious Trumpian arm-twisting was involved which pressured Netanyahu to comply?—
Melik Kaylan,
Forbes,
20 Jan. 2025
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His near-angelic vocals still hold the power to mesmerize — and evoke shrill screams of delight.—
KiMi Robinson,
USA TODAY,
29 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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White Noise—The womb is a noisy place, so a white-noise machine, fan, or vacuum can create a familiar, calming background sound.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
Newsweek,
12 Feb. 2025
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The background gets predictably noisy due to the Tiny SE’s small sensor, showing significantly more grain across flat surfaces than the Tiny 2.—
PCMAG,
PCMAG,
6 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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But with the emergence of digital media, today's cacophonous environment features billions of podcasts, blogs, streaming channels, and social media influencer accounts that each cater to micro-viewerships with zero editorial oversight or accountability.—
Yaakov Katz,
Newsweek,
17 Jan. 2025
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There is a primordial quality to the woods that oscillates between cacophonous forest chatter and eerie silence in the space of a ridge or two.—
Laura Lancaster,
Outdoor Life,
2 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Investors were greeted with unpleasant inflation data on Tuesday.—
Michael Khouw,
CNBC,
13 Feb. 2025
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The steam emanating from the hot oats began to cook the egg whites, which gave the dish an unpleasant scrambled egg-like texture.—
Ashia Aubourg,
Outside Online,
6 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Over a pleasantly discordant score of dreamy electronic chords and twanging banjos, Matthew finds pencil marks charting his growth as a child while these parents fuss over their own new baby.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Feb. 2025
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The film’s score is, by turns, delicate and bold, flowing and discordant, unrepentantly experimental, and an echo of the grandeur of Hollywood.—
Sarah Shachat,
IndieWire,
12 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Her makeup was a soft glam look, with a light metallic eyeshadow and a coordinating bold red lipstick that matched her bright red manicure perfectly.—
Charna Flam,
People.com,
14 Feb. 2025
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Forget the traditional metallic aviator and pilot designs this spring.—
Martino Carrera,
WWD,
14 Feb. 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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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
Thesaurus Entries Near dissonant
Cite this Entry
“Dissonant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dissonant. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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