Cacophony
/kəˈkɒfəni/
nounC1
Definition
Cacophony is when many different sounds happen at the same time, but they are noisy and do not sound nice together. It often feels confusing or uncomfortable to hear because the sounds clash with each other.
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See It in Action
A harsh, unpleasant mix of sounds
- •The construction site created a cacophony that made it hard to concentrate.
- •The orchestra tuning their instruments made a brief cacophony before the concert started.
- •The city street was filled with the cacophony of honking cars and shouting vendors.
Make It Stick
- ✓Think of "noise" (A1 word), but much louder and more unpleasant—like many bad sounds mixed together
- ✓Picture a busy city street with car horns, people shouting, and construction all at once, making it hard to focus
- ✓It’s the feeling when you hear a lot of loud, messy sounds that make you want to cover your ears
- ✓Sounds like "cack-off-ony" → imagine a noisy group of crows ("cack") making a loud, harsh sound all at once
- ✓In cartoons, when everything goes wrong, you often hear a loud, mixed-up sound that feels chaotic—that is cacophony
- ✓NOT like "music" (which is planned and pleasant), cacophony is loud and unpleasant noise
- ✓NOT like "silence" (no sound), cacophony is many loud, clashing sounds all together
Try Other Words
- •Din: loud, continuous noise (Use when the noise is loud and unpleasant but more continuous)
- •Racket: loud and disturbing noise (Use in informal situations to describe noisy, annoying sounds)
- •Noise: any sound, good or bad (Use when you want a general word for sound, not necessarily unpleasant)
Unboxing
- •Word parts: "caco-" (bad) + "-phony" (sound or voice)
- •Etymology: From Greek "kakophonia," meaning "bad sound"
- •Historical development: Used since the 1600s to describe harsh or unpleasant sounds
- •Modern usage: Often used to describe loud, mixed, unpleasant sounds in music, environment, or daily life
- •Key insight: It is not just noise, but noise that is harsh, unpleasant, and confusing
Reflect & Connect
•How can cacophony affect your mood or ability to focus in daily life?
•Can a cacophony ever be interesting or enjoyable, for example in music or art? Why or why not?
Fill in the blanks
1.The cacophony in the busy market made it ___ to hear the street performers.
2.When the band started tuning, the room was filled with a ___ cacophony before the music began.
3.Unlike a calm melody, cacophony is a ___ mix of loud and unpleasant sounds.
4.People often cover their ears when they hear a sudden ___ cacophony of alarms and sirens.
5.The word cacophony usually describes sounds that are ___ and confusing, not quiet or soft.
6.In some modern music, artists use cacophony to create a feeling of ___ or chaos.
7.The cacophony of car horns and shouting vendors made the street feel very ___ and busy.