cacophony

/kəˈkɑfəni/

/kəˈkɒfəni/

Other forms: cacophonies

A cacophony is a mishmash of unpleasant sounds, often at loud volume. It's what you'd hear if you gave instruments to a group of four-year-olds and asked them to play one of Beethoven's symphonies.

A cacophony is a jarring, discordant mix of sounds that have no business being played together. When the orchestra tunes up before a show, it sounds like a cacophony because each musician is playing a completely different tune, at different times, and at different volumes. Once the show begins, that cacophony had better turn into a melody, or audiences will demand a refund. This allegedly occurred during the first time Igor Stravinsky's score for the ballet "The Rite of Spring" was performed because its difficult composition and discordant tone was shocking.

Definitions of cacophony

1. noun

   loud confusing disagreeable sounds
   type of:

   dissonance

   disagreeable sounds
2. noun

   a loud harsh or strident noise
   synonyms: blare, blaring, clamor, clamour, din

   type of:

   noise

   sound of any kind (especially unintelligible or dissonant sound)