What does discordance mean?
Discordance refers to a lack of agreement, harmony, or correspondence between two or more things. It can describe concrete mismatches, such as a discordance between scientific data sets or medical test results, as well as more abstract conflicts between people's beliefs, interests, or actions. The word carries a formal register and appears frequently in academic, medical, and technical writing, where precision about discrepancy matters. It can also describe harsh or jarring sounds, particularly in music, where discordance is the quality of notes that clash rather than blend. Derived from Latin roots meaning 'to be at variance', it shares ancestry with 'discord' and 'discordant'. Because it names both factual inconsistency and interpersonal conflict, discordance is a versatile term for writers who want a single, dignified word to capture the sense that things simply do not line up.
A lack of agreement or correspondence between things; an inconsistency or mismatch.
"There was a noticeable discordance between the witness's account and the physical evidence."
Often used in scientific and medical contexts to describe discrepancies between data sources.
A state of disagreement, strife, or conflict between people or groups.
"Years of discordance within the committee finally led to its dissolution."
Slightly formal; everyday speech tends to prefer 'conflict' or 'strife'.
A harsh, clashing combination of sounds; dissonance.
"The composer deliberately used discordance to convey the character's inner turmoil."
Less common today than 'dissonance' for this musical sense.
Rarely used; the word typically functions as an uncountable noun referring to the general state of disagreement or mismatch. When pluralized, it refers to individual instances of discord or specific points of inconsistency.
"The audit uncovered several discordances between the reported figures and the underlying records."
Discordance comes straight from the Latin 'discors', meaning 'fighting apart' — the same root that gives us the word 'discord', so every time you use it you're literally invoking ancient Roman quarrels.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of discordance
Discordance derives from the Latin noun 'discordantia', formed from 'discors', meaning 'disagreeing' or 'at variance', which combines the prefix 'dis-' ('apart') with 'cor' or 'cord-', the heart. The word entered English via Old French in the late Middle Ages, carrying senses of both conflict and clashing sound. Its cognates include 'discord' and 'discordant', all tracing back to the same Latin root, while its opposite, 'concordance', shares the same 'cord-' element with a different prefix meaning 'with'.
Related word forms
How discordance is actually used
Discordance is a relatively formal word, common in academic, scientific, and medical writing — for example, in describing discrepancies between diagnostic tests. In everyday speech, words like 'mismatch', 'clash', or 'disagreement' are more natural. The plural form 'discordances' exists but is rare; the word is usually used as an uncountable noun.
Easily confused with discordance
Concordance means agreement or harmony — essentially the opposite of discordance, which denotes disagreement or inconsistency.
Discord refers to conflict itself, especially among people or in music, while discordance emphasizes the state or quality of being out of agreement or mismatch.