cacophony

[kuh-kof-uh-nee]

noun

plural

cacophonies 

1. harsh or unpleasant discordance of sound; dissonance.

   After living in the country, it's difficult for me to adjust to the cacophony produced by city traffic.

2. a discordant and meaningless mixture of sounds.

   The sound effects included a cacophony of hoots, cackles, and wails.

3. Music.,  frequent use of harsh, discordant notes or chords that seem to be patternless and without connection to each other.

cacophony

/ kəˈkɒfənɪ /

noun

1. harsh discordant sound; dissonance

2. the use of unharmonious or dissonant speech sounds in language

Other Word Forms

• cacophonic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of cacophony¹

First recorded in 1650–60; from New Latin cacophonia, from Greek kakophōnía; equivalent to caco- + -phony

Example Sentences

Voices echo through the vast, concrete space and a cacophony of drills and electric lifts beep, buzz and blare.

From Los Angeles Times

When the champions' line-up was read out by the stadium announcer, a few minutes before kick-off, the cacophony of boos were deafening.

From BBC

At one point, the besieged Waymos began honking their horns in coordinated cacophony, punctuated by the chants of protesters and the whirring of police helicopters overhead.

From Los Angeles Times

Besides confirming the number of people injured — at least two seriously — the Merseyside Police answered a growing cacophony on social media questioning whether the driver was a terrorist.

From Los Angeles Times

In dark times, the songs that will comfort us will not be the cacophony of individual voices wailing their grief.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• noise