What does cacophony mean?
Word: Cacophony
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Cacophony means a harsh mixture of loud, unpleasant sounds.
How do you spell cacophony?
Syllables: ca - coph - o - ny
Tricky part: The f sound in the middle is not spelt with an f. It is ph.
Watch out for: cacofony, cakofony
Memory tip: It is all about sound, so think of a telephone: the f sound in both is spelt ph.
Cacophony in a sentence
Example 1: A cacophony of drums and whistles filled the stadium after the final goal.
Example 2: The school band's first practice was a cacophony nobody will forget.
Example 3: Crows and mynas set up a cacophony in the banyan tree at dusk.
Fun Fact
Taken piece by piece from Greek, the word means bad sound. The same Greek word for sound is found in symphony, headphones and telephone.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Three of these words are misspelt. Choose the meaning of the one spelt correctly:
1. idiosyncracy 2. reminiscense 3. cacophony 4. bureaucrasy
a) a jarring clash of noises
b) a system of many officials and rules
c) a habit that is odd and all your own
d) a spoken or written memory of the past
Show answer
a) a jarring clash of noises. Reminiscence ends in ce, and idiosyncrasy and bureaucracy each end with the wrong one of c and s here.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word cacophony as used in the sentence:
The tuning of forty instruments made a cacophony in the concert hall.
a) clamour
b) din
c) racket
d) harmony
Show answer
d) harmony. In harmony, sounds blend pleasantly instead of clashing.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
A hacncooyp of car horns and bicycle bells met us outside the station.
a) symphony
b) canopy
c) calamity
d) cacophony
Show answer
d) cacophony. The letters include two c's and an h, and only one option fits them all.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
When the monsoon frogs began their nightly cacaphony beside the pond, my grandfather closed the window and turned up the volume of the radio.
a) cacaphony
b) grandfather
c) volume
d) nightly
Show answer
a) cacaphony. The vowel just before the ph should be an o.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which sound would you most likely call by this word?
a) a flute playing softly at dawn
b) a choir singing one calm note
c) ten alarm clocks ringing at once
d) rain falling gently on a tin roof
Show answer
c) ten alarm clocks ringing at once
2. A traveller calls a market a cacophony. What is she complaining about?
a) the noise
b) the prices
c) the heat
d) the crowds
Show answer
a) the noise
