cacophony

Advancedzipf 2.61

Pronunciation

/kəˈkɒfəni/(kuh-KOF-uh-nee)

Part of speech

nounformal

Chinese

刺耳的声音；不和谐音

Definition

A harsh, unpleasant mixture of sounds; a jarring discord.

Word family

  • cacophonous/kəˈkɒfənəs/(adj)刺耳的

Collocations

  • cacophony of sounds
  • cacophony of voices
  • cacophony of noise
  • cacophonous music

Examples

  1. 1.The cacophony of car horns, sirens, and shouting filled the street. (harsh noise)
  2. 2.The orchestra's warm-up produced a brief cacophony before settling into harmony. (discordant sounds)

Synonyms

  • din/dɪn/— loud, unpleasant noise
  • discord/ˈdɪskɔːd/— lack of harmony
  • clamor/ˈklæmə/— loud, confused noise

Etymology

kakos (bad) + phone (sound) — bad sound — opposite of "euphony" (good sound)