Discordant — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

Discordant (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

1. marked by or producing a harsh combination of sounds

   "discordant tones coming from the poorly tuned instrument"

   similar: cacophonous, dissonant, inharmonious, unmelodious, unmusical, unvocal
   related: blaring, clanging, clangorous, clashing, clattering, dinning, grating, harsh, jangling, jangly, jarring, metallic, noisy, raspy, raucous, scratching, screeching, shrill, squeaky, strident, disagreeable, unpleasant, unpleasing, atonal, off-key, tuneless, resounding, sonorous, clamorous, uproarious
   opposite: harmonious, harmonizing, melodious, musical
   near: dulcet, euphonious, mellifluent, mellifluous, mellow, melodic, sweet, tuneful, resonant, sonorous, quavering, trilling, warbling, agreeable, appealing, pleasant, cadenced, lilting, lyric, lyrical, rhythmic, chordal, harmonic, homophonic, orchestral, polyphonic, symphonic, symphonious, tonal, calm, hushed, noiseless, quiet, silent, soundless, still

2. making loud, confused, and usually unharmonious sounds

   "the discordant cries of gulls fighting over the fishing boat's castoffs"

   similar: clangorous, dinning, noisy, rackety
   related: cacophonous, dissonant, resounding, sonorous, clamorous, uproarious, blatant, obstreperous, strident, vociferous, blaring, booming, brassy, brazen, clanging, earsplitting, jangly
   opposite: noiseless, quiet, silent, soundless, still
   near: calm, hushed

3. feeling or displaying eagerness to fight

   "a troubled, discordant family that would benefit from professional counseling"

   similar: aggressive, agonistic, argumentative, assaultive, bellicose, belligerent, brawly, chippy, combative, confrontational, contentious, disputatious, feisty, gladiatorial, militant, pugnacious, quarrelsome, scrappy, truculent, warlike, on the warpath
   related: antagonistic, fierce, hostile, hot-tempered, acidic, bearish, bilious, bristly, choleric, crabby, cranky, cross, disagreeable, dyspeptic, fractious, fretful, grouchy, grumpy, huffy, ill-humored, ill-natured, ill-tempered, irascible, irritable, ornery, peevish, pettish, petulant, prickly, querulous, rude, snappish, snappy, stroppy (British), surly, testy, touchy, ugly, waspish, savage, vicious, battling, fighting, warring
   opposite: nonaggressive, nonbelligerent, pacific, peaceable, peaceful, unbelligerent, uncombative, uncontentious
   near: anti-imperialist, antimilitarist, unwarlike, affable, amiable, amicable, benevolent, complaisant, conciliatory, cordial, easygoing, friendly, genial, good-natured, good-tempered, gracious, ingratiating, kindhearted, obliging, pleasant, sociable, calm, quiet, relaxed, serene, tranquil, benign, gentle, kindly, mild

4. not being in agreement or harmony

   "his views on the proper role of diet in maintaining good health are certainly discordant with most contemporary opinions on the subject"

   similar: clashing, conflicting, disagreeing, discrepant, incompatible, incongruous, inconsistent, inconsonant, inharmonious, mutually exclusive, repugnant, at odds, at variance
   related: irreconcilable, antagonistic, antipodal, antipodean, antithetical, contradictory, contrary, diametric, opposing, opposite
   opposite: accordant, agreeing, compatible, concordant, conformable (to), congruent, congruous, consistent, consonant, correspondent (with or to), harmonious, nonconflicting
   near: akin, like, similar