harmony

Meanings

1. 1noununcountable

   A calm state in which people or things exist together without conflict.

   Grammar: Usually uncountable and often follows in: living in harmony.

   Patterns

   • in harmony with someone
   • live in harmony

   The neighbors lived in harmony for decades despite their differences.

   Peace talks aim to restore harmony between the two groups.

   The family's harmony was disturbed by an argument over the inheritance.

2. 2noununcountable

   A pleasing match between the parts of a whole, such as colors, shapes, or ideas.

   Grammar: Often followed by with or between: harmony between color and shape.

   Patterns

   • harmony between things
   • in harmony with something

   The garden's design shows harmony between stone, water, and plants.

   The new building is in harmony with its historic surroundings.

   Soft blues and greens create a sense of harmony in the room.

3. 3nouncountable or uncountablemusic

   In music, notes sounded together to form chords, or the way chords combine to support a melody.

   Grammar: Often uncountable in general talk; countable for a particular line: a vocal harmony.

   Patterns

   • sing in harmony
   • harmony to something

   The two sisters sing in harmony, one taking the high line.

   She added a harmony to the melody on the piano.

   Students learn harmony and counterpoint in the second year of composition.

Word forms

Common combinations

in perfect harmony

The choir sang in perfect harmony.

racial harmony

The school promotes racial harmony through shared projects.

live in harmony

Different faiths live in harmony in this valley.

close harmony

The quartet is known for its close harmony.

disturb the harmony

One angry remark could disturb the harmony of the meeting.

Synonyms and how they differ

concord

Concord is a formal word for agreement between people or nations, and is rarer than harmony.

accord

Accord stresses agreement on a matter, while harmony suggests a lasting peaceful state.

unity

Unity is about being joined as one, whereas harmony allows differences that still fit well together.

peace

Peace is the absence of conflict, while harmony adds the idea of parts working well together.

Opposites

Word family

harmonious adjective

peaceful or pleasing in combination

harmonize verb

to sing in harmony or bring into agreement

harmonic adjective

relating to musical harmony

harmoniously adverb

in a peaceful, matching way

disharmony noun

lack of agreement

Commonly confused: harmony or melody?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “harmony”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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