[dis.cord] n (13c) 1 a: lack of agreement or harmony (as between persons, things, or ideas) b: active quarreling or conflict resulting from discord among persons or factions: strife
2. a (1): a combination of musical sounds that strikes the ear harshly (2): dissonance b: a harsh or unpleasant sound syn discord, strife, conflict, contention, dissension, variance mean a state or condition marked by a lack of agreement or harmony. discord implies an intrinsic or essential lack of harmony producing quarreling, factiousness, or antagonism "a political party long racked by discord". strife emphasizes a struggle for superiority rather than the incongruity or incompatibility of the persons or things involved "during his brief reign the empire was never free of civil strife". conflict usu. stresses the action of forces in opposition but in static applications implies an irreconcilability as of duties or desires "the conflict of freedom and responsibility". contention applies to strife or competition that shows itself in quarreling, disputing, or controversy "several points of contention about the new zoning law". dissension implies strife or discord and stresses a division into factions "religious dissension threatened to split the colony". variance implies a clash between persons or things owing to a difference in nature, opinion, or interest "cultural variances that work against a national identity".
[2]dis.cord vi [ME, fr. OF discorder, fr. L discordare, fr. discord-, discors discordant, fr. dis- + cord-, cor heart--more at heart] (14c): disagree, clash