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Increasing Your Vocabulary: Cacophony

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.

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Written by Rex Trulove

24 Comments

  1. 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.

    1
    • 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.”

    • 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.