Rex Trulove
Cacophony is a word that is fairly common today, though it has been around for a while. A cacophony is a loud, discordant sound that can make people cringe. Think of a number of singers all singing different songs at the same time and as loud as they can. Around here, it can also describe a cat walking across the piano keyboard. Some people liken a cacophony to a traffic jam with everyone honking their horns. You probably get the idea.
This word has been around since at least the 1780’s and it is apparently derived from a French word that is spelled slightly differently; cacophonie. The French word, in turn, comes from the Greek word kakophonos. Kakos means bad, wicked, or evil and phonos means sound. It is from ‘kakos’ that the word ‘kakka’ comes from and kakka means defecation. That should give people a good idea of the kind of bad, wicked, or evil that is being spoken about.
It was originally applied to discordant music, but applies to any loud, discordant sound.
Come to think of it, I’m aware of quite a few political meetings that resulted in a cacophony.
At any rate, now you have another word you can play with, even if you already use it. In fact, if you already use it, you might now have a better grasp of the word and its meaning. Understanding is one of the most effective ways to increase your vocabulary.
Thank you for sharing that with us. I never knew what the word meant but have seen it around.
Thanks for the new word. this surely add up to my vocabulary… because here, cars and motorbikes really create cacophony. Annoying
Another extraordinary word that I’m gonna use when it fits in my expression! Thank you!
That is great to hear! It is wonderful when we are able to expand our vocabularies.
I was being cacophonized by silence, was I making my mind withershins at this point?
LOL…that is one way to use the words together!
thank you for running such a informative campaign
You are very welcome. I sincerely hope that it will help people.
I do not tolerate loud noises well due to my PTSD. But this is a new word for me, thanks for the knowledge. Have a great weekend.
I’m glad that I was able to introduce you to the word!
Used in a sentence?
New York City has really cool sounding cacophony.
Hmmm…saying that a loud, discordant, annoying sound was cool is an interesting way to look at it.
LOL. Nothing sounds like New York!
I’ve heard the word cacophony before in conversation, but I’ve never used it personally.
A person might be a little hesitant to use it unless they knew that others understood what it meant. lol
The cacophony neighbors never stopped. Is this correct, professor?
That’s the right idea, but cacophony is a noun rather than an adjective. Better usage and probably without changing the meaning would be, “The neighbors are still being a cacophony.”
…this word is also one of the high-faluting ones..good job Rex 🙂
The surprising part is how often the word is used incorrectly.
That was my thought too Traf. 🙂
…but it’s really good to add up this word to my list 🙂
yeah maybe not too often.. 🙂
I couldn’t help chuckling at the connection drawn between cacophony and politics. lol
Interesting piece!
I thought that someone might like that. It is true, though. Every time I see a official statement that is given live, the moment the President or whoever says, “That is all. Thank you.”, the press becomes a cacophony.