Cacophony / ka-ˈkä-fə-nē / noun

Definition: Cacophony describes an unpleasant collection of sounds or events. A combination of deafening noises like bangs, screeches, and eardrum splitting sounds represents a cacophony.

The noise described by the term cacophony refers to an unexpected and unwanted intrusion of harshness in sounds, words, or phrases.

Cacophony can also describe an unusual combination or mixture of things that don’t normally belong together. It is an unpleasant sound normally jarring and unexpected. Someone describing a cacophony of sound is describing a negative experience.

Etymology: The first recorded use of cacophony was reported in the mid-17th century. The word was cacophony. One of the earliest recorded uses of the word cacophony is by the French and Greeks.

The word cacophony was used by the French as “cacophonie.” It was also used by the Greeks as “kakophonia,” from kakos, meaning “bad noise.”

In a Sentence

A cacophony of horns startled us as we entered the city limits.

The elephants at the zoo surprised us with a cacophony of trumpeting all at once.

The chaotic concert was a cacophony of people screaming, music blaring, and feedback from the speakers.

Synonyms 

Chatter, Clamor, Noise

Antonyms 

Quiet, Silence, Calm