Consonance

Agreement or compatibility among ideas, values, or actions.

Reach for it when describing elements that fit together without contradiction

The final plan achieved consonance between beauty and step-free access.

• everyday

  agreement

  ideas or positions match in a direct way

  not when Agreement can be explicit between people and need not involve harmonious fit.

• warm

  harmony

  parts combine agreeably into a whole

  not when Harmony is warmer and can imply a lack of meaningful disagreement.

• professional

  alignment

  goals, actions, or principles point in the same direction

  not when Alignment is corporate language and can hide tension or unequal power.

• formal

  accord

  elements or parties are in recognized agreement

  not when Accord can name a negotiated settlement rather than an inherent fit.

A pleasant or stable combination of musical sounds.

Reach for it when discussing perceived harmonic agreement in music

The movement closes in gentle consonance after sustained tension.

• playful

  musical accord

  plain figurative wording suits a general audience

  not when Musical accord is uncommon and may be mistaken for agreement among musicians.

• professional

  harmonic stability

  technical musical discussion needs the listener's sense of rest

  not when Stability is theory-dependent and less natural outside music analysis.

• literary

  euphony

  the combined sound is pleasing to hear

  not when Euphony concerns pleasant sound broadly, not the harmonic relationship between pitches.

• conflict
• inconsistency
• dissonance
• discord
• clash

• consonance between

  There is consonance between the stated goal and the funded work.

• in consonance with

  The repair is in consonance with the building's original proportions.

• harmonic consonance

  Harmonic consonance arrives only after the unresolved suspension.