unmelodious

Unmelodious is an adjective used to describe sounds, voices, or music that lack melody or musical quality, and that are generally unpleasant to hear. This can result from a flat or irregular pitch, a monotonous or erratic rhythm, or timbres that do not form a coherent melodic line. The term is often applied to vocal performances, but can describe instrumental passages or natural sounds such as birdsong when it lacks a recognizable tune.

The word is formed from the prefix un- attached to melodious; melodious derives from Latin melodiosus, from Greek melōidía meaning song. The sense is therefore "not melodic" or "without melody."

In descriptive writing, unmelodious can convey negative affect or discomfort; in musical criticism, more precise terms like "unmelodic" or "non-melodic" may be used, while "discordant" or "cacophonous" describe clashes of sounds rather than absence of melody.

Synonyms include unmusical, discordant, inharmonious, and cacophonous. Antonyms include melodic, tuneful, and harmonious. The term is more common in literary or general critique than in formal music theory, where precise technical descriptors for pitch, contour, and harmony are preferred. See also melody, harmony, consonance, and dissonance.