harmony

harmony 1 Harmony, consonance, accord, concord all designate the result attained or the effect produced when different things come together without clashing or disagreement.

Harmony basically denotes the unity, order, and absence of friction produced by the perfect articulation and interrelation of distinct parts in a complex whole

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to heavenliest harmony reduce the seeming chaos— Southey

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the scientific view of the world . . . seeks to find law, harmony, uniformity in nature— Ingey}}

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Largely because of its associations with music the term often suggests beauty of effect, whether achieved by order in a whole or by agreeable blending or arrangement (as of tones, colors, and features)

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a harmony of life, a fine balance of all the forces of the human spirit— Binyon

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Iike hues and harmonies of evening— Shelley

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Consonance may denote the blending of two or more simultaneous sounds so as to produce an agreeable effect and is then opposed to dissonance. More often it names the fact or the means whereas harmony names the result

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notes in consonance constitute harmony, as notes in succession constitute melody— Chambers

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In extended application consonance commonly retains these implications of coincidence and concurrence. Sometimes the pleasurable effect is still suggested

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in good poetry there always is this consonance of thought and song— Alexander

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Very often there is no hint of a pleasurable effect but a strong implication of consistency or congruity

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this was an unprecedented act, but it was in consonance with Roman tradition— Buchan

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Accord is often interchangeable with consonance without loss

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it was in accord with Roman tradition

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However, it can imply, as consonance cannot, personal agreement or goodwill or, often, absence of ill will or friction

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for your father's remembrance, be at accord— Shak.

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engineers have reached a certain accord in regard to ethical principles— Wagner

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Hence the phrase "with one accord" suggests unanimity

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with one accord they gave a cheer

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Concord, like accord, often stresses agreement between persons but is more positive in its implications, for it suggests peace with amity rather than absence or suppression of ill will

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how comes this gentle concord in the world?— Shak.

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till heart with heart in concord beats— Wordsworth

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Concord also, when applied to sounds, comes close to harmony in its implications. However it seldom except in a technical sense in music connotes consonance of tones, but usually the pleasant succession of tones that is the quality of melody

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the man that hath no music in himself, nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds— Shak.

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the casual poetry of her gestures and the musical concord of her voice— Wylie

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Analogous words: integration, articulation, concatenation (see under INTEGRATE): congruousness or congruity, consonance, compatibility (see corresponding adjectives at CONSONANT): concurrence, agreement (see corresponding verbs at AGREE)

Antonyms: conflict

Contrasted words: *discord, strife, contention, difference, variance, dissension

2 *symmetry, proportion, balance

Analogous words: grace, *elegance, dignity: *unity, integrity