What does discordant mean?
Word: Discordant
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Discordant means not in harmony. It describes sounds that clash unpleasantly, or people and ideas that do not agree.
Synonyms: harsh, jarring, clashing
Antonyms: tuneful, agreeing
How do you spell discordant?
Syllables: dis - cor - dant
Tricky part: The middle has just one c. Disccordant, with two, and dicordant, with none, are the slips teachers see.
Watch out for: disccordant, dicordant, diskordant
Memory tip: You hear one hard k in the middle, so write one c; in fact no letter in this word is doubled.
Discordant in a sentence
Example 1: The tuning of the old harmonium gave a discordant note.
Example 2: Car horns made a discordant noise at the signal.
Example 3: The two captains had discordant ideas about the batting order.
Fun Fact
Discordant goes back to Latin words for apart and heart, so its first idea was of hearts pulling in different directions.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word discordant as used in the sentence:
The band's first rehearsal was so discordant that the music teacher asked every player to tune again.
a) careless
b) harmonious
c) lengthy
d) hurried
Show answer
b) harmonious. Harmonious sounds blend together well, the very opposite of a rehearsal where the notes clash.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
d_sc_rdant
a) e, o
b) e, a
c) i, a
d) i, o
Show answer
d) i, o. It opens with dis, as in disagree, and the middle is cord.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one word in the list is spelt correctly. Choose its meaning:
1. orkestra 2. symphoney 3. discordant 4. rythmic
a) a long piece of music for an orchestra
b) a large group of musicians playing together
c) having a regular, repeated beat
d) harsh and clashing in sound
Show answer
d) harsh and clashing in sound. Orchestra has ch for its k sound, symphony ends in a plain y, and rhythmic needs an h after the r.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence to form a meaningful word:
The sudden tnocadsrid clang of pots from the kitchen woke the whole house.
a) discordant
b) distracted
c) discounted
d) discarded
Show answer
a) discordant. The jumble has an o and an r but no u, e or second t, which leaves only discordant.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A discordant sound would most likely come from ____.
a) a well-practised choir
b) a soft lullaby
c) a badly tuned violin
d) birdsong at dawn
Show answer
c) a badly tuned violin
2. The class had discordant ideas about where to go for the picnic. What probably happened next?
a) the picnic was planned in a minute
b) the teacher praised their quick choice
c) everyone chose the same place at once
d) a long discussion before anyone agreed
Show answer
d) a long discussion before anyone agreed
