Consonance

n. calm, thoughtful formal

What it means

Meaning 1

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.

Meaning 2

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.

Words to choose between 7

By register, from playful at the top to literary at the bottom, and by meaning across. Tap a word to see when it fits.
Meaning 1Meaning 2
playful
everyday
warm
professional
formal
  • Consonance (this word)
  • accord
literary

Meaning 1: Agreement or compatibility among ideas, values, or actions.

  • everyday

    agreement

    Fits when ideas or positions match in a direct way

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

  • warm

    harmony

    Fits when parts combine agreeably into a whole

    Careful Harmony is warmer and can imply a lack of meaningful disagreement.

  • professional

    alignment

    Fits when goals, actions, or principles point in the same direction

    Careful Alignment is corporate language and can hide tension or unequal power.

  • formal

    accord

    Fits when elements or parties are in recognized agreement

    Careful Accord can name a negotiated settlement rather than an inherent fit.

Meaning 2: A pleasant or stable combination of musical sounds.

  • playful

    musical accord

    Fits when plain figurative wording suits a general audience

    Careful Musical accord is uncommon and may be mistaken for agreement among musicians.

  • professional

    harmonic stability

    Fits when technical musical discussion needs the listener's sense of rest

    Careful Stability is theory-dependent and less natural outside music analysis.

  • literary

    euphony

    Fits when the combined sound is pleasing to hear

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

Opposites 5

  • conflict
  • inconsistency
  • dissonance
  • discord
  • clash

Common phrases 3

  • 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.

Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: NaomiAmethyst, American accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Updated