Word of the day · 17 June 2026
cacophony
/kəˈkɒfəni/
noun
A harsh, discordant mixture of sounds.
In a sentence
- A cacophony of horns rose from the blocked intersection.
- The kitchen filled with a cacophony of timers and boiling pots.
- Online replies became a cacophony of slogans.
In an image
Origin
From Greek kakophōnia, from kakos (bad) and phōnē (voice, sound).
History
Critics first used cacophony for ugly combinations in music and speech. City life gave it a second career: traffic, alarms and overlapping talk. Writers also stretch it to clashing opinions or colors. The Greek roots keep the judgment clear: this is sound judged bad, not merely loud.
Nearby words
din · discord · clamor
Noise that clashes instead of blending.