discordant

Syllables: dis·cord·ant/dɪsˈkɔːdn̩t//dɪsˈkoɹdənt/

discordant adjective: not in accord or harmony; conflicting, incompatible. Also the ellipsis of serodiscordant.

Adjective

discordant (comparative more discordant, superlative most discordant)

Not in accord or harmony; conflicting, incompatible.
- For it is poſſible long ſtudy may encreaſe, and confirm erroneous Sentences: and vvhere men build on falſe grounds, the more they build, the greater is the ruine: and of thoſe that ſtudy, and obſerve vvith equall time, and diligence, the reaſons and reſolutions are, and muſt remain diſcordant: […]1651, Thomas Hobbes, “Of Civill Lawes”, in Leviathan, or The Matter, Forme, & Power of a Common-wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civill, London: […] [William Wilson] for Andrew Crooke, […], →OCLC, 2nd part...
- [T]hat vvhich vve call Conſcience is to be referred, namely, if by a due compariſon of things done vvith the rule, there be a conſonancy follovvs the ſentence Approbation; if diſcordant from it, the ſentence of Condemnation.a. 1677 (date written), Matthew Hale, “Touching the Excellency of the Humane Nature in General”, in The Primitive Origination of Mankind, Considered and Examined According to the Light of Nature...
Synonyms:

absonant, absonous, at variance, disconsonant, discordable, inaccordant, inconcinnous, incongruent, inconsonant, nonconcordant

Antonyms:

accordant, concordant, consonant, nondiscordant, undiscordant
1. Of people: disagreeing with each other; dissenting, quarrelsome.
  - Rumour is a pipe, / Blovvne by ſurmizes, Iealouſies[,] coniectures, / And of ſo eaſie, and ſo plaine a ſtop, / That the blunt monſter, vvith vncounted heads, / The ſtill diſcordant vvau'ring multitude, / Can play vpon it.c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Second Part of Henrie the Fourth, […], quarto edition, London: […] V[alentine] S[immes] for Andrew Wise, and William Aspley, published 1600...
  - Yet this Baſilius [Basil I, who had Michael III assassinated] vvaſhed his hands and made many Proteſtations that he had no hand in his blood. This made for the Popes advantage: VVomen and Rebels and Traytors and diſcordant Princes did much in raiſing him.1680, Richard Baxter, “Of the Councils after Ignatius and Photius, and Some Others”, in Church-history of the Government of Bishops and Their Councils Abbreviated. […], London: […] [Bennet Griffin?]...
2. (also, figuratively) Of sounds: harsh, jarring; specifically (music), of musical notes or tunes: not in harmony; dissonant, inharmonious.
  - [N]o other kind of liuing beaſtes both behold the fayrenes and the bewtie of the wordle^([sic – meaning worlde]), or is moued with anny reſpect of ſauours, but only for the diuerſity of meates, nother perceaueth the concordaunt and diſcordante diſtaunces of ſoundes, and tunes […]1551, Thomas More, “The Second Boke of the Communycacion of Raphael Hythlodaye, Concernynge the Best State of a Commen Wealthe: Cõteynyng the Discription of Utopia, with a Large Declaration of the...
  - But hovv fatally ſecure ſhould vve be, if God ſhould permit this Syren alvvaies to entertain us vvith her muſic, and ſhould not by ſome diſcordant grating notes, interrupt our raptures, and recal us to ſober thoughts?1675, [Richard Allestree], “Sect[ion] VIII. Of the Advantage of Afflictions.”, in The Art of Contentment. […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: At the [Sheldonian] Theater […], →OCLC, paragraph 5, page 139
(physical) Of a rock formation or other land feature, or its alignment: cutting across or transverse to neighbouring features.
- Dikes may be discordant to country rock if they intrude at a high angle to the bedding.
Antonyms:

concordant
1. (physical) Of a coastline: having bands of different types of rock running transversely to the coast, leading to the formation of alternating bays and headlands.
Of two similar subjects, especially twins: differing in some characteristic.
Of figures, etc.: having opposite signs (for example, positive and negative).

Antonyms:

concordant

Noun

discordant (plural discordants)

(in plural) A thing which is not in accord or harmony with one or more other things.
- In the process of dismemberment it must often happen that the true individuality of a soil is lost, so that schemes of laboratory classification sometimes arbitrarily separate agricultural similars and unite agricultural discordants.1910 November 17, “The International Agrogeological Congress at Stockholm”, in Nature: A Weekly Illustrated Journal of Science, volume 85, number 2142, London; New York, N.Y.: Macmillan and Co....

Also used as

discordant is also the ellipsis of serodiscordant.

discordant meaning in Telugu, Arabic and Vietnamese

discordant in Telugu

of sounds: harsh, jarring; of musical notes or tunes: not in harmony — see also dissonant, harsh, inharmonious, jarring: అపస్వరము apasvaramu

discordant in Arabic

not in accord or harmony — see also conflicting, incompatible: مُتَنَافِر mutanāfir
of sounds: harsh, jarring; of musical notes or tunes: not in harmony — see also dissonant, harsh, inharmonious, jarring: مُتَنَافِر mutanāfir

discordant in Vietnamese

of sounds: harsh, jarring; of musical notes or tunes: not in harmony — see also dissonant, harsh, inharmonious, jarring: inh tai nhức óc

Examples of discordant in a sentence

Thy ſenate is a ſcene of civil jar, / Chaos of contrarieties at vvar, / VVhere ſharp and ſolid, phlegmatic and light, / Diſcordant atoms meet, ferment and fight, […]1781 (date written), William Cowper, “Expostulation”, in Poems, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], published 1782, →OCLC, page 118:
These forms, however distinct or discordant, the plan of Homer required him in some manner to amalgamate.1869, William Ewart Gladstone, “Resemblances and Differences between the Greeks and the Trojans”, in Juventus Mundi: The Gods and Men of...
VVar, vvith diſcordant Notes and jarring Noiſe, / The Harmony of Peace deſtroys.1701 (date written), [William] Congreve, A Hymn to Harmony, Written in Honour of St. Cecilia’s Day, MDCCI. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson...
In the heart / No paſſion touches a diſcordant ſtring, / But all is harmony and love.1785, William Cowper, “Book VI. The Winter Walk at Noon.”, in The Task, a Poem, […], London: […] J[oseph] Johnson; […], →OCLC, page 271:

All 16 example sentences with discordant

Synonyms of discordant

30 more synonymsFewer synonyms

Antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of discordant

Forms of discordant

Adjective
comparative	more discordant
superlative	most discordant
alternative form	discordaunt
Noun
plural	discordants

Origin of discordant

From Late Middle English discordaunt (“(adjective) not in accord or harmony; dissonant; (noun) element not in accord or harmony”), from Anglo-Norman descorda(u)nt, discorda(u)nt, Middle French descordant, discordant, and Old French descordant, discordant (“of people: quarrelsome; of things: in disagreement, at variance”) (modern French discordant), an adjective use of the present participle of descorder, discorder (“to fail to agree or harmonize, clash, disagree, discord”), from Latin discordāre, the present active infinitive of discordō (“to disagree, quarrel with”), from discors (“discordant, different, inharmonious”) + -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs). Discors is derived from dis- (“prefix meaning ‘apart, in two’”) + cor (“heart; (figurative) mind; soul”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱḗr (“heart”)). By surface analysis, discord (noun) + -ant (suffix forming adjectives from nouns with the sense ‘exhibiting [the condition or process described by the noun]’).

Words formed from discordant

Words that rhyme with discordant

Questions about discordant

What does discordant mean?: Discordant means not in accord or harmony; conflicting, incompatible.
What is discordant in Telugu?: Discordant in Telugu is అపస్వరము (apasvaramu). See Discordant meaning in Telugu.
How do you use discordant in a sentence?: Thy ſenate is a ſcene of civil jar, / Chaos of contrarieties at vvar, / VVhere ſharp and ſolid, phlegmatic and light, / Diſcordant atoms meet, ferment and fight, […]
What part of speech is discordant?: Discordant can be an adjective or a noun.
How do you pronounce discordant?: Discordant is pronounced /dɪsˈkɔːdn̩t/ (UK).

Words near discordant in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: discordant (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

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