- Today's Word
Cacophony
[kuh-KOF-uh-nee]
Definition
- (noun) A harsh, discordant mixture of sounds. It’s used to describe any loud, confusing, and unpleasant noise, often made up of many different sounds happening simultaneously.
Example
The city street was filled with a cacophony of car horns, construction work, and street vendors shouting, making it nearly impossible to hear oneself think.
Fun Fact
The word “cacophony” comes from the Greek words “kakos,” meaning “bad,” and “phone,” meaning “sound” or “voice.” It was first used in English in the 17th century to describe unpleasant sounds in music. Interestingly, its antonym is “euphony,” which describes pleasant or harmonious sounds. In literature, cacophony is sometimes used intentionally as a stylistic device to create a sense of chaos or discord, often through the use of words with harsh-sounding consonants or clashing vowels.
(noun) A form of irony in which a person pretends to refuse or show disinterest in something they actually desire
His accismus was obvious to everyone at the table — he waved off the dessert menu three times before finally ordering the chocolate cake.
Accismus comes directly from the Greek akkismos, meaning “prudery” or “affectation,” derived from Akkō, the name of a foolish woman in Greek legend known for her coy, affected behavior. It entered English as a formal rhetorical term, classified among the figures of speech used in classical oratory and persuasion.