From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdissonancedis‧so‧nance /ˈdɪsənəns/ noun 1 [countable, uncountable]APM technical a combination of notes that sound strange because they are not in harmony OPP consonance2 [uncountable] formalDISAGREE lack of agreement —dissonant adjective
Examples from the Corpus
dissonance• Revelling in colour and contrast, drama and dissonance, boldness and individualism, it was the architectural legacy of Romanticism.• We will now add a lower part which will turn the consonant effect into one of uniformly relaxed mild dissonance.• a choral piece full of dissonance and odd rhythms• The party faithful might be willing to put up with such dissonance among their candidates.Origin dissonance (1400-1500) Latin dissonare, from sonare “to sound” 