discordant

adjective

dis·​cor·​dant di-ˈskȯr-dᵊnt 

1

a

: being at variance : disagreeing

discordant opinions

b

: quarrelsome

a discordant family

2

music : relating to a discord (see discord entry 1 sense 2)

a discordant tone

discordantly adverb

Did you know?

Discord, a word more common in earlier centuries than today, means basically "conflict", so discordant often means "conflicting". The opinions of Supreme Court justices are frequently discordant; justices who disagree with the Court's decision usually write a dissenting opinion. Discordant is often used with a somewhat musical meaning, suggesting that a single wrong note or harmony has been heard in the middle of a performance—even though musical words such as chord actually come from a different Latin word, meaning "cord" or "string" (a reference to the strings of ancient instruments such as the lyre).

Synonyms

• cacophonous
• dissonant
• inharmonious
• unmelodious
• unmusical
• unvocal

Examples of discordant in a Sentence

She has the difficult task of bringing together a number of discordant elements.

discordant tones coming from the poorly tuned instrument

Recent Examples on the Web

While Trump did have certain discordant regulatory inclinations of his own, his late-term optics in part reflect the Administrative Procedure Act’s requirements: eliminating two rules for every new one often necessitated new rules to implement the removals. —Clyde Wayne Crews Jr., Forbes, 3 Dec. 2024

Not in the factual sense, because that would be crazy, but closer to how fashionistas know to add one discordant accessory. —Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 28 Nov. 2024

Stoked with tender moments of humor and character revelation, Bodyguard, unfortunately, suffers some discordant tonal lapses. —Duane Byrge, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Nov. 2024

A number of reports speculated a discordant exit for Saleh, including some saying he was escorted out of the Jets’ facility by security and that Rodgers himself had a role in the coach’s dismissal. —Paulina Dedaj, Fox News, 9 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

see discord entry 2

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

discordant

adjective

dis·​cord·​ant

dis-ˈkȯrd-ᵊnt

1

a

: not being in agreement

discordant opinions

b

: quarrelsome

a discordant family

2

: relating to or producing a discord

discordant music

discordantly adverb

Medical Definition

discordant

adjective

dis·​cor·​dant dis-ˈkȯrd-ᵊnt 

of twins

: dissimilar with respect to one or more particular characters compare concordant

discordance

-ᵊn(t)s 

noun