Cacophony

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /kəˈkɒfəni/

Definitions

1. A harsh, discordant mixture of sounds that is loud and unpleasant to the ear
2. a jarring blend of clashing and discordant sounds that assault the ears with unpleasant noise
3. a turbulent amalgamation of conflicting acoustic elements producing an offensive and chaotic auditory experience

Etymology: Ancient Greeks had no word for an unpleasant racket that sounded quite like the English one, yet they built this term from two plain parts: "kakos", meaning bad, and "phōnē", meaning sound or voice. Together they gave "kakophōnia", a bad sound, and the Greek "kakophōnos" described something harsh-voiced or discordant. The word then passed into French as "cacophonie" before reaching English, where it kept the same literal sense of bad sound. The first half, "caco-", is one of a family of Greek combining forms that all carry the idea of badness, so the English word is built the same way as a compound such as "cacography" would be. The second half, "-phony", comes from the same Greek root that gives English words about sound and voice, which is why the term is clearly about noise rather than about anything morally wrong. The English word is also a useful reminder that a term about harsh sound may describe music, speech, or a crowded street equally well.

Synonyms: discord, dissonance, noise, clamor, tumult

Antonyms: harmony, silence, peace, melody, serenity