cacophonous

Advancedzipf 1.94

Pronunciation

/kəˈkɒfənəs/(kuh-KOF-uh-nus)

Part of speech

adjectiveformal

Chinese

刺耳的；不和谐的

Definition

Involving or producing a harsh, discordant mixture of sounds.

Word family

  • cacophony/kəˈkɒfəni/(n)刺耳的声音/噪音
  • cacophonously/kəˈkɒfənəsli/(adv)刺耳地

Collocations

  • cacophonous noise
  • cacophonous chorus
  • cacophonous city
  • cacophonous blend

Examples

  1. 1.The construction site, traffic, and street musicians created a cacophonous assault on the ears. (harsh, discordant noise)
  2. 2.The cacophonous tuning of the orchestra suddenly resolved into the opening chord of the symphony. (discordant sounds)

Synonyms

  • discordant/dɪsˈkɔːrdənt/— lacking harmony
  • dissonant/ˈdɪsənənt/— clashing in sound
  • strident/ˈstraɪdənt/— loud and harsh

Etymology

from Greek "kakophonos" — kakos (bad) + phone (voice, sound) — bad-sounding — the opposite of euphonious