consonant

¹con·so·nant

adj \ˈkän(t)-s(ə-)nənt\

Definition of CONSONANT

1

: being in agreement or harmony : free from elements making for discord

2

: marked by musical consonances

3

: having similar sounds <consonant words>

4

: relating to or exhibiting consonance : resonant

— con·so·nant·ly adverb

Examples of CONSONANT

1. <the temples and palaces of ancient Greece are among the most consonant buildings in architectural history>
2. <his gentle behavior is consonant with his expressed belief in pacifism>

Origin of CONSONANT

Middle English, from Latin consonant-, consonans, present participle of consonare to sound together, agree, from com- + sonare to sound — more at sound

First Known Use: 15th century

Related to CONSONANT

Synonyms: balanced, congruous, harmonious, eurythmic (or eurhythmic), harmonic

Antonyms: disharmonic, disharmonious, incongruous, inharmonic, inharmonious, unbalanced

Related Words: even, proportioned, regular, symmetrical (or symmetric); aesthetic (also esthetic or aesthetical or esthetical), artistic, becoming, elegant, graceful, tasteful; agreeable, felicitous, pleasant, pleasing, satisfying; coherent, cohesive, compatible, coordinated, correspondent, matched, matching; Apollinian, Apollonian

Near Antonyms: asymmetrical (or asymmetric), disordered, irregular, skewed, unequal, uneven, unsymmetrical; distasteful, graceless, inartistic, inelegant, tasteless, unaesthetic, unbecoming, ungraceful, unlovely; disagreeable, displeasing, dissatisfying, infelicitous, unfortunate, unpleasant, unsightly; clashing, conflicting, disunited, incompatible, uncoordinated

see all synonyms and antonyms

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Other Grammar and Linguistics Terms

ablaut, allusion, anacoluthon, diacritic, gerund, idiom, infinitive, metaphor, semiotics, simile