This is Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 2nd.
Today's word is dissonant, spelled D-I-S-S-O-N-A-N-T.
Dissonant is an adjective.
Dissonant typically describes music that is not in harmony or sounds and notes that clash.
In non-music contexts, dissonant describes things that clash by not being in agreement or by not fitting well together.
Here's the word used in a sentence from Pitchfork.
Their disparate sonic elements form a dissonant but cohesive whole, wisps of trumpet
and electronic woodwinds flashing by as quickly as flickering subway car lights.
At the root of the word dissonant is the Latin verb sonare.
Can you guess what sonare means?
Here's a hint.
Some related words are sonata, supersonic, and resonance.
Does it sound to you as if sonare has something to do with sound?
In fact, sonare means to sound, is related to the Latin noun sonus, meaning sound,
and is also an ancestor of the English word sound.
In musical contexts, dissonant and the related noun dissonance are used to describe a clashing
or unresolved musical interval or chord.
Consonance, in contrast,
refers to a musical interval or chord that produces an impression of agreeableness or resolution.
With your Word of the Day, I'm Peter Sokolowski.