cacophonous

adjective

ca·​coph·​o·​nous ka-ˈkä-fə-nəs 

-ˈkȯ-,

 also  -ˈka-

: marked by cacophony : harsh-sounding

like an old battlefield, once cacophonous with the clash of steel, the roar of cannon, the screams of wounded and dying men

—Brian Moore

cacophonously adverb

Synonyms

• discordant
• dissonant
• inharmonious
• unmelodious
• unmusical
• unvocal

Examples of cacophonous in a Sentence

the cacophonous chaos on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange

Recent Examples on the Web

Hundreds of revelers roar at once, thrusting homemade torches into the freezing air and banging pans together with cacophonous glee. —Amiel Stanek, Bon Appétit, 26 Nov. 2024

Getty The designation recognizes areas with pristine natural soundscapes, an increasingly necessary balm in our cacophonous modern world. —Cnt Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Nov. 2024

The two primary action scenes are cacophonous and unexpected, exactly how Homicide always did it. —Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 20 Aug. 2024

Berger made a cacophonous, confusing mess of the anti-war classic All Quiet on the Western Front back in 2022, and mistook its profound statements about the toll of conflict as an excuse for self-conscious seriousness drenched in bloody sturm-und-drang spectacle. —David Fear, Rolling Stone, 25 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin cacophōnus (borrowed from Greek kakóphōnos "disagreeable-sounding," from kako- caco- + -phōnos "having a sound [of the kind specified]," adjective derivative of phōnḗ "sound made by something living, voice, speech") + -ous — more at phono-

First Known Use

1782, in the meaning defined above