1 Definition
A harsh, jarring mix of loud sounds that clash with one another.
2 In Use
By eight o'clock the kitchen was a cacophony of sizzling pans, shouted orders, and a timer nobody had the hands free to silence.
3 Word Origin
kakophonia Gk. · bad sound → cacophonie Fr. · harsh noise → cacophony 17th c. English
Cacophony is built from two ancient Greek ideas: something bad and something heard. The Greeks paired them to describe a voice or sound that grated on the ear. English borrowed the word through French in the 1600s, when it first described harsh or ugly sound in speech and music. Over time it widened to cover any noisy pileup, from a crowded street to a room full of overlapping conversations.
💡Fun Fact
Writers and poets sometimes use cacophony on purpose. By stacking hard, clipped consonants like k, t, and g, they can make a line sound rough and jolting, mirroring chaos or anger in the scene they describe. The word has a famous opposite, euphony, which names sound that flows pleasantly and soothes the ear. Together the pair gives critics a handy way to discuss why some sentences feel smooth and others feel like stumbling over gravel.