dissonance

discord, conflict, a harsh or unpleasant combination of sounds

Not to be confused with:

dissidence – disagreement, dissent

dis·so·nance

(dĭs′ə-nəns)

1. A harsh, disagreeable combination of sounds; discord.

2. Lack of agreement, consistency, or harmony; conflict: "In Vietnam, reality fell away and dissonance between claim and fact filled the void" (Michael Janeway).

3. Music A combination of tones contextually considered to suggest unrelieved tension and require resolution.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

dissonance

(ˈdɪsənəns) or

dissonancy

1. a discordant combination of sounds

2. lack of agreement or consistency

3. (Music, other) music

a. a sensation commonly associated with all intervals of the second and seventh, all diminished and augmented intervals, and all chords based on these intervals. Compare consonance³

b. an interval or chord of this kind

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

dis•so•nance

(ˈdɪs ə nəns)

n.

1. inharmonious or harsh sound; discord; cacophony.

2. an unresolved, discordant musical chord or interval.

3. lack of harmony or agreement; incongruity.

[1565–75; < Late Latin dissonantia=dissonant- (see dissonant) + -ia -ia; see -ance]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	dissonance - a conflict of people's opinions or actions or characters disagreement, dissension conflict - a state of opposition between persons or ideas or interests; "his conflict of interest made him ineligible for the post"; "a conflict of loyalties" disunity - lack of unity (usually resulting from dissension) divide - a serious disagreement between two groups of people (typically producing tension or hostility)
	2.	dissonance - the auditory experience of sound that lacks musical quality; sound that is a disagreeable auditory experience; "modern music is just noise to me" noise, racket auditory sensation, sound - the subjective sensation of hearing something; "he strained to hear the faint sounds"
	3.	dissonance - disagreeable sounds sound property - an attribute of sound discordance, discord - a harsh mixture of sounds disharmony, inharmoniousness - a lack of harmony cacophony - loud confusing disagreeable sounds harmony - an agreeable sound property

dissonance

noun

1. disagreement, variance, discord, dissension Bring harmony out of dissonance.

2. discordance, discord, jangle, cacophony, jarring, harshness, lack of harmony, unmelodiousness a jumble of silence and dissonance

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

dissonance

noun

A state of disagreement and disharmony:

Translations

disonanceneshodanesouladnesouzvuk

Dissonanz

dissonanza

dissonância

dissonance

[ˈdɪsənəns] N → disonancia f

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

dissonance

[ˈdɪsənəns] n

(= friction, clash) → discordance f

(MUSIC) → dissonance f

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

dissonance

n (Mus, fig) → Dissonanz f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

dissonance

[ˈdɪsənəns] n (frm) → dissonanza

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

The smooth manner of the spy, curiously in dissonance with his ostentatiously rough dress, and probably with his usual demeanour, received such a check from the inscrutability of Carton,--who was a mystery to wiser and honester men than he,--that it faltered here and failed him.

View in context

Maddening church bells of all degrees of dissonance, sharp and flat, cracked and clear, fast and slow, made the brick-and-mortar echoes hideous.

View in context

But drive farr off the barbarous dissonance Of BACCHUS and his Revellers, the Race Of that wilde Rout that tore the THRACIAN Bard In RHODOPE, where Woods and Rocks had Eares To rapture, till the savage clamor dround Both Harp and Voice; nor could the Muse defend Her Son.

View in context

One of his most rational projects was to connect a musical operation with the machinery of his watches, so that all the harsh dissonances of life might be rendered tuneful, and each flitting moment fall into the abyss of the past in golden drops of harmony.

View in context

This creates a problem that is known in the social psychology literature as 'cognitive dissonance': that there is a discord and contradiction between two different realities that the subject simultaneously perceives.

The cognitive dissonance of Indian Life

Cognitive Dissonance: Reexamining a Pivotal Theory in Psychology, 2nd Edition

Thus, we explored the connections between Chinese public sector employees' emotional dissonance, work meaningfulness, and perceived stress, and examined the age-linked differences in those relationships.

Chinese public sector employees' age, emotional dissonance, work meaningfulness, and perceived stress

[USA], Dec 31 (ANI): Senior US Senator Lindsey Graham has stated that President Donald Trump is "open-minded" with regard to negotiations on the partial US government shutdown in the wake of dissonance over funding for the border wall between Trump and the Congress.

Trump 'open-minded' about negotiations: Graham on government shutdown

In psychology, cognitive dissonance is the mental discomfort experienced by a person who acts one way but believes another.

'I object!'

This study utilized cognitive dissonance theory proposed by Festinger (1957) to conceptually explain and interpret the findings of the study.

Using Cognitive Dissonance to Theoretically Explain Water Conservation Intentions

Questions that are relevant or create dissonance may also create curiosity and arousal and help visitors to make personal connections.

Increasing Visitor Engagement During Interpretive Walking Tours

(8) As discussed in Part I, the labels used to describe these inconsistencies are hypocrisy and cognitive' dissonance. But this article also coins a new term, cheap sentiment.

CHEAP SENTIMENT