A harsh, disagreeable combination of sounds; discord.
Lack of agreement, consistency, or harmony; conflict: "In Vietnam, reality fell away and dissonance between claim and fact filled the void"(Michael Janeway).
Music A combination of tones contextually considered to suggest unrelieved tension and require resolution.
a conflict of people's opinions or actions or characters [syn: disagreement] [ant: accord]
2.
the auditory experience of sound that lacks musical quality; sound that is a disagreeable auditory experience; "modern music is just noise to me" [syn: noise]
Main Entry: dis·so·nance Pronunciation: 'dis-&-n&n(t)s Function: noun : inconsistency between the beliefs one holds or between one's
actions and one's beliefs —see COGNITIVE DISSONANCE
Dis"so*nance\, n. [L. dissonantia: cf. F. dissonance.]1. A mingling of discordant sounds; an inharmonious combination of sounds; discord. Filled the air with barbarous dissonance. --Milton. 2. Want of agreement; incongruity. --Milton.