Cacophony - plus, test your vocabulary

[Merriam-Webster]( WORD OF THE DAY [February 13, 2019](#none) cacophony [Audio pronunciation]( noun | ka-KAH-fuh-nee Definition 1 : harsh or discordant sound : [dissonance](; specifically : harshness in the sound of words or phrases 2 : an incongruous or chaotic mixture : a striking combination Scroll down for more about cacophony TRENDING NOW: [apoplectic]( [suffragette]( [abject]( [bipartisan]( [SEE ALL [>]]( PEOPLE ARE READING # ['Teem' — Video Word of the Day 2/12/2019]( # [12 Words and Phrases for Romantic Relationships]( # ['Bardolater' — Video Word of the Day 2/11/2019]( # [The Good, The Bad, & The Semantically Imprecise - 2/8/19]( WORD GAMES AND QUIZZES: WEEKLY CHALLENGE [Valentine's Day Quiz]( A quiz for lovers and haters [PLAY NOW]( Nailed this quiz? We have plenty more to try! [TAKE ME THERE [>]]( Did You Know? Words that descend from the Greek word phōnē are making noise in English. Why? Because phōnē means "sound" or "voice." Cacophony comes from a joining of the Greek prefix kak- (from kakos,meaning "bad") with phōnē, so it essentially means "bad sound." [Symphony](, a word that indicates harmony or agreement in sound, traces to phōnē and the Greek prefix syn-, which means "together." [Polyphony]( refers to a style of musical composition in which two or more independent melodies are juxtaposed in harmony, and it comes from a combination of phōnē and the Greek prefix poly-, meaning "many." And [euphony](, a word for a pleasing or sweet sound, combines phōnē with eu-, a prefix that means "good." Examples of CACOPHONY "But never in their most uneasy dreams did they expect the cacophony—a word which here means 'the sound of two metal pots being banged together by a nasty foreman standing in the doorway holding no breakfast at all'—that awoke them." — Lemony Snicket, The Miserable Mill, 2000 "Divided into groups of ten or so, the students came forward for an opportunity to play the instruments. The cacophony that resulted was matched only by the children's broad smiles as they blew tubas, banged on drums or drew bows across violins." — Steven Felschundneff, The Claremont (California) Courier, 29 Nov. 2018 Test Your Vocabulary Fill in the blanks to complete an adjective that means "pleasant sounding": c _ n _ r _ _ s. [VIEW THE ANSWER [>]]( WORD OF THE YEAR 2018 Justice + 10 more Read why justice is our Word of the Year, plus lodestar, epiphany, pansexual, and 7 more top words! [SEE THE FULL LIST [>]]( MORE WORD FUN: [WORD GAMES [>]]( [TRENDING NOW [>]]( [WORDS AT PLAY [>]]( FOLLOW US: [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( [Pinterest]( SHARE: [Facebook][Facebook]( [Twitter][Twitter]( [View this email in a web browser]( You are receiving this email because you opted in to receive the Merriam-Webster Word of the Day. [Unsubscribe from Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day]( [Manage your subscription settings]( Merriam-Webster, Inc. 47 Federal Street P.O. Box 281 Springfield, MA 01102 [www.merriam-webster.com](