cacophony

/kəˈkɒfəni/

//kəˈkɒfəni// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"cacophony" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cacophony” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #46,357. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#46,357
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
14
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A mix of discordant sounds; dissonance.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cacophony · cacophony · English

cacophony · rank #46,357 · 14 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #46,357
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH cabbages

Nearest frequency peer: cabbages (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “cacophony”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “cacophony” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for cacophony
PropertyValue
Headwordcacophony
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kəˈkɒfəni/
Letters9
Frequency rank#46,357
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “cacophony”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).cacophonylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “cabbages” (#46,356), “Caligula” (#46,358), “buzzword” (#46,355). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cacophony” is #46,357. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around cacophony (IPA /kəˈkɒfəni/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #46,357 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A mix of discordant sounds; dissonance.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for cacophony, with forms such as "accophony", "caccophony", and "cacohpony". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French cacophonie, from Ancient Greek κακοφωνία (kakophōnía), from κακός (kakós, “bad”) + φωνή (phōnḗ, “sound”), equivalent to caco- + -phony. The correct English form is cacophony, spelled C-A-C-O-P-H-O-N-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    A mix of discordant sounds; dissonance.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how cacophony appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. 1921-1922, H. P. Lovecraft, Herbert West: Reanimator, Not more unutterable could have been the chaos of hellish sound if the pit itself had opened to release the agony of the damned, for in one inconceivable cacophony was centered all the supernal terror and unnatural despair of animate nature.
  2. The Japanese got their attack in first. About ten minutes after passing the U.S. aircraft, they spotted Hornet (local weather patterns temporarily concealing Enterprise). Things had improved a little bit compared to the Eastern Solomons, and three dozen F4F Wildcats on combat air patrol were vectored onto the oncoming hostiles, but once that initial task…

Etymology

From French cacophonie, from Ancient Greek κακοφωνία (kakophōnía), from κακός (kakós, “bad”) + φωνή (phōnḗ, “sound”), equivalent to caco- + -phony.

Synonyms

cacophonycaterwaulingdiscorddiscordancediscordancydyscrasydisharmonydissonancedissonancyear rapeinharmony

Antonyms

euphonyharmony

This word in other languages

cacofonía(Español)cacophonie(Français)Kakophonie(Deutsch)cacofonia(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • accophony
  • caccophony
  • cacohpony
  • cacophhony
  • cacophnoy
  • cacophonny
  • cacophonyy
  • cacophoyn
  • cacopohny
  • cacopphony
  • cacpohony
  • caocphony
  • ccacophony
  • ccaophony

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of cacophony - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

accophony2caccophony1cacohpony2cacophhony1cacophnoy2cacophonny1cacophonyy1cacophoyn2
Edit distance from "cacophony"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "cacophony"?
"cacophony" is spelled C-A-C-O-P-H-O-N-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /kəˈkɒfəni/.
What does "cacophony" mean?
As a noun, "cacophony" means: A mix of discordant sounds; dissonance.
What are common misspellings of "cacophony"?
Common misspellings include "accophony", "caccophony", "cacohpony", "cacophhony", "cacophnoy". The correct spelling is "cacophony".
How do you pronounce "cacophony"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cacophony" is /kəˈkɒfəni/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "cacophony"?
From French cacophonie, from Ancient Greek κακοφωνία (kakophōnía), from κακός (kakós, “bad”) + φωνή (phōnḗ, “sound”), equivalent to caco- + -phony. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "cacophony", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Catharine#46,367Cavanaugh#46,368bookmaker#46,345chambered#46,373

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

belittling14 variantsAylesbury14 variantsEvangelion14 variantsweeknight14 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list