I. ˈdiˌskȯrd, -ȯ(ə)d noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English descord, discorde, partly from Old French descort (from descorder ); partly from Old French descorde, from Latin discordia, from discord-, discors discordant + -ia -y
1.
a.
(1) : lack of harmony or agreement between persons : disunity , disagreement , dissension
must we fall into the jabber and babel of discord while victory is still unattained — Sir Winston Churchill
(2) : conflict , strife
discord among the barons of the border country reached the point of daily raids, ambushes, and kidnappings
b. : lack of harmony or agreement between things or ideas : contrast , difference , opposition
the glaring discord between the architecture of the two buildings
the discord between the idealist and materialist philosophies
2.
a. : a combination of musical sounds which strike the ear harshly due either to an unprepared dissonance or to an effect of false intonation or tuning
b. : the interval between two discordant notes ; also : a discordant note
c. : dissonance
3. : any harsh or unpleasant sound
the braying of automobile horns and other daily discords of city life
Synonyms:
strife , conflict , contention , dissension , variance : discord may indicate sustained inharmonious disagreement marked by quarreling, factiousness, antagonism
the meeting broke up in discord
the discord among the brawling barons
the controversies arising from this situation are bitter, and the discord is ominously apparent — H.A.Wagner
discord indicates the fact of existent disharmony, perhaps pointless; strife may designate competition in a hectic struggle for victory or supremacy
all must live together in harmony as good neighbors or in strife as bad neighbors — Saturday Review
as the war drew to its end he, like Lincoln, sought to heal the wounds caused by internecine strife — H.A.Bridgman
conflict indicates existence of opposition or rivalry with desire or impetus to victory or mastery but not necessarily with the surging activity associated with strife
the medieval conflicts between England and France
the age-old conflict between city and village — A.R.Williams
the conflict of passion, temper, or appetite with the external duties — T.S.Eliot
the union and conflict of two very different human impulses, the one urging men towards mysticism, the other urging them towards science — Bertrand Russell
contention may suggest bickering quarrelsome altercation in words; it usually does not apply to physically active strife
contention about the new zoning laws
contention between free trade and tariff groups
the contentions and turmoils preceding Kentucky's admission into the Union — E.M.Coulter
dissension is likely to stress the existence of disharmony and noisy truculent antipathy between groups, with or without strife
the party was split by internal dissension on religious, racial, and intellectual questions — American Guide Series: New York
reports of internal dissension in Venezuela: a “moderate” group in the Venezuelan army threatened to revolt against the Gallegos government — Current Biography
variance may indicate a clash of opinion, temperament, or character that make for strife, discord, or cold hostility
sectarian variances in the town had delayed the erection of a house of worship — American Guide Series: Vermont
the unwillingness of young men interested in the ministry to accept the required strict orthodoxy at variance with twentieth century viewpoints — Current Biography
II. “, də̇ˈskȯ(ə)rd, -ˈskȯ(ə)d intransitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English discorden, from Old French descorder, discorder, from Latin discordare, from discord-, discors discordant, at odds, from dis- dis- (I) + cord-, cor heart — more at heart
: to be at variance : disagree , differ
several of his disclosures discord strongly with my personal knowledge — E.J.Wayland