0 (of sounds or musical notes) sounding strange or unpleasant: --
Amid the celebrations over the passage of the reform bill this week, one dissonant voice could be heard.
His compositions tend to be brutally dissonant and repetitive.
a dissonant combination of sounds
People don't like to be in a dissonant state, a state where they're psychologically uncomfortable.
She professed herself to be an anarchist, which I thought a little dissonant, given that she accepted a CBE from the Queen.
This dispute was a rare dissonant note between the two powers which have recently been on very friendly terms.
Since the 1960s, a new emphasis has been placed on atonal, dissonant and electronic compositions.
The ancient tower is topped by a dissonant bell that clanks out the call to Mass.