dissonant

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The Word of the Day for September 16 is: 

dissonant   \DISS-uh-nunt\   adjective
     1 : marked by lack of agreement : discordant 
    *2 : incongruous 
     3 : harmonically unresolved 

Example sentence:
          “The beautiful tuna had been cooked to dry dullness, and the bitter baby bok choy was alarmingly dissonant with the sauce.” (Patricia Greathouse, _Santa Fe New Mexican_, August 4, 2006)

Did you know?
          The root of “dissonant” is the Latin verb “sonare.” Can you guess what “sonare” means? Here’s a hint: some related derivatives are “sonata,” “supersonic,” and “resonance.” Does it sound to you as if “sonare” has something to do with sound? If so, you’re right. In fact, “sonare” means “to sound,” is related to the Latin noun “sonus” (meaning “sound”), and is an ancestor of the English word “sound.” “Dissonant” includes the negative prefix “dis-.” What is “dissonant,” therefore, sounds inharmonic, conflicting, or clashing.





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