Disharmonizing

Part of speech: verb, adjective

Definitions

1. Causing a lack of harmony or agreement in sound, appearance, or arrangement; disrupting the balance or unity within a musical composition, visual design, or social relationship; introducing discord or unpleasantness in an otherwise cohesive context
2. Producing a state where elements fail to correspond or blend well, especially referring to jarring musical notes, conflicting visual elements, or interpersonal disagreements; breaking the natural or expected sequence of harmony; reducing pleasantness and cohesion
3. Creating discordance by disturbing the smooth coordination or alignment of parts, particularly in music by clashing tones, in aesthetics through mismatched features, or in interactions via conflicting attitudes; impairing unity and causing tension or confusion

Etymology: "Disharmonizing" is simply the present participle of "disharmonize", which is built from the prefix "dis-" added to "harmonize". The prefix, from Latin "dis-", carries the sense of undoing or reversing, so "disharmonize" means to take away harmony, or to throw things out of agreement. Harmonize itself comes from the Greek "harmonia", a word for joining or fitting together, which English took through Latin and French. Attaching "dis-" to a verb of that kind gives the reversed sense: where harmonizing brings parts into accord, disharmonizing sets them against one another. The two parts combine plainly, with no hidden story behind the coinage.

Synonyms: clashing, discordant, conflicting

Antonyms: harmonizing, concordant