1400-50;late Middle Englishdissonaunte (< Anglo-French) < Latindissonant- (stem of dissonāns, present participle of dissonāre to sound harsh), equivalent to disson- (derivative of dissonus discordant; see dis-1, sound) + -ant--ant
Related forms
dissonantly, adverb
undissonant, adjective
undissonantly, adverb
Synonyms
2. incompatible, incongruent, inconsistent.
Examples from the web for dissonant
Reading about a dissonant chord doesn't make it sound any sweeter, but repeated hearing certainly does.
The dissonant chords and primitive rhythms had a still more unnerving effect upon the audience.
Upending such a value set is too cognitively dissonant for many on both sides of the equation.
He created a tune that was so dissonant it could not be made into a record.
Much of the music is chromatic, mildly dissonant and strikingly lacking in aggression.
In reality, they were indulging in selective ignorance, as they explained away dissonant facts and contradictory data.
Saying it is chromatic or dissonant doesn't give a full sense of it.
We must open our discourse to dissonant voices, both to combat prejudice and to enrich our lives.
But consider how dissonant the first part is: open source and cellphone.
As jolting and dissonant as the songs were, they were also carefully shaped.
British Dictionary definitions for dissonant
dissonant
/ˈdɪsənənt/
adjective
1.
discordant; cacophonous
2.
incongruous or discrepant
3.
(music) characterized by dissonance
Derived Forms
dissonantly, adverb
Word Origin
C15: from Latin dissonāre to be discordant, from dis-1 + sonāre to sound
Word Origin and History for dissonant
adj.
early 15c., from Middle French dissonant and directly from Latin dissonantem (nominative dissonans), present participle of dissonare "differ in sound," from dis- "apart" (see dis-) + sonare "to sound" (see sonata).