First Known Use: circa 1656
Dictionary
cacophony
noun ca·coph·o·ny \ka-ˈkä-fə-nē, -ˈkȯ- also -ˈka-\
: unpleasant loud sounds
plural ca·coph·o·nies
Full Definition of CACOPHONY
: harsh or discordant sound : dissonance 2; specifically : harshness in the sound of words or phrases
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Examples of CACOPHONY
- The cacophony of phlegmatic and tubercular lungs was punctuated here and there by a moan or a scream of someone terrified, thrashing in the throes of a nightmare. —Ronald Gearles, Undoing Time, 2001
- Seething gas just beneath the sun's visible surface generates a cacophony of sound waves that ring the sun like a giant bell. —R. Cowen, Science News, 18 Mar. 2000
- Shell casings littered the highway, where a cacophony of car alarms and sobbing rent the winter air. —Jeff Stein, GQ, December 1997
- … no matter how forbearing he might have been, there were times when he simply needed to escape that cacophony of piping voices … —T. Coraghessan Boyle, The Road to Wellville, 1993
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Origin of CACOPHONY
(see cacophonous)
Related to CACOPHONY
Other Music Terms
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