Cacophony: meaning, example and synonyms
Cacophonyn. A harsh, jarring mixture of loud and discordant sounds.
Example
The cacophony of jackhammers, car horns, and shouting vendors made it nearly impossible for the researchers to record the faint songs of urban sparrows.
- Part of speech
- noun
- Synonyms
- din, racket, discord, clamor
- Antonyms
- harmony, silence, euphony, melody
- Memory tip
- Greek kakos (bad) + phone (sound): literally 'bad sound'.
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Check yourself: Cacophony in context
When all forty students in the practice wing tuned their instruments at once, the resulting ______ drove the visiting acoustician to seal the doors of the recording studio.
Answer: cacophony. Forty instruments tuning at once make a harsh, jarring noise: a cacophony. prose (writing without meter), indication (a sign) and debris (scattered fragments) don't fit this context.
Early industrial cities assaulted the ear as well as the eye: the shriek of steam whistles, the clatter of looms, and the clang of foundry hammers merged into a ceaseless ______.
Answer: cacophony. Shrieks, clatter and clangs merging together describe a discordant din, a cacophony. consideration (regard for others), prose (writing without meter) and calculation (self-serving planning) don't fit this context.