unmusical

adjective

ˌən-ˈmyü-zi-kəl How to pronounce unmusical (audio)
Definition of unmusicalnext
as in shrill
marked by or producing a harsh combination of sounds a very unmusical chorus of squawks from the angry ravens

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of unmusical Those songs remind Omara of real people and real events, political interludes whose senselessness and brutality have left unmusical lacunae in her life. — Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 18 Dec. 2023 His parents were unmusical Russian-Jewish immigrants who ran various businesses with mixed success. — The Economist, 3 Oct. 2019 Paradoxically, then, the man most involved in the development of the electric guitar was the unmusical Leo Fender. — David Kirby, WSJ, 17 Jan. 2019 The controversy of Schoenberg’s serialist works—the overwhelming reaction to them as ugly, nightmarish, simply unmusical—shows how firmly tonality had come to condition habits of listening. — Paul Grimstad, The New Republic, 21 June 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unmusical
  1. shrill
  2. noisy
  3. dissonant
  4. unpleasant
  5. metallic
  6. inharmonious
  7. cacophonous
Adjective
  • With a soprano voice that’s sharp but never shrill, O’Donovan can levitate a heartfelt melody over just about any kind of accompaniment.
    — Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 30 Sep. 2026
  • When Caleb Hammer, a thirty-one-year-old personal-finance YouTuber, gets particularly exasperated, his voice enters a shrill upper register.
    — Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of shrill
Adjective
  • Lucy refurbishes their noisy slab arrangements into massive walls of buzzing texture, like a cross between a fashionable rave and a final boss battle.
    — H.D. Angel, Pitchfork, 8 Oct. 2026
  • In a place where others might have heard a gunshot, or the noisy retreat of a car on three good tires.
    — Thomas Lake, AJC.com, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of noisy
Adjective
  • In a film, that’s where the music would come up, dissonant strings, ringing ears, the drums increasing tempo.
    — Brian Laidlaw, Longreads, 1 Sep. 2026
  • The score was such a beautiful, odd, dissonant piece of work.
    — Jeff Spry, Space.com, 27 July 2026
Definition of dissonant
Adjective
  • As unpleasant as his job might be at the moment, Harbaugh is ostensibly safe.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Depriving the plant of light discourages the development of chlorophyll—the green plant pigment responsible for color—and rids the chicory of an unpleasant flavor.
    — Tamar Adler, Vogue, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of unpleasant
Adjective
  • The sandal was made unique with knotted strap and gold metallic orb details.
    — Jaden Thompson, Footwear News, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Both peripherals have a dual-tone white-and-metallic-silver color scheme.
    — Michael Justin Allen Sexton, PC Magazine, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of metallic
Adjective
  • We are made loving, good, and pure – entirely free from any inharmonious tendency.
    — Margaret Rogers, Christian Science Monitor, 15 Apr. 2026
  • Setting Discordant Personal Goals A 2023 study published in Current Psychology finds that partners’ inharmonious goals can have detrimental effects on relationships.
    — Mark Travers, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
Definition of inharmonious
Adjective
  • In one, during a ribbon-cutting ceremony to unveil the new White House helipad, a project the president has shown tremendous pride in, he couldn’t be heard over the cacophonous din of Marine One.
    — Aidan McLaughlin, Vanity Fair, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Anyone who stands in front of De Kooning’s urgent, sensuously greedy drawings, with their writhing contours, cacophonous colors, and perverse processes, can feel the force of that craving.
    — Sebastian Smee, The Atlantic, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of cacophonous

Browse Nearby Words

unmuffling
unmusical
unnamed
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Cite this Entry

“Unmusical.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unmusical. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

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