Harmonic

//hɑː(ɹ)ˈmɒnɪk// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A component frequency of the signal of a wave that is an integer multiple of the fundamental frequency.
  2. 2
    any of a series of musical tones whose frequencies are integral multiples of the frequency of a fundamental wordnet
  3. 3
    The place where, on a bowed string instrument, a note in the harmonic series of a particular string can be played without the fundamental present.
  4. 4
    a tone that is a component of a complex sound wordnet
  5. 5
    One of a class of functions that enter into the development of the potential of a nearly spherical mass due to its attraction.
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  1. 6
    One's child.

    "Games for the harmonics, (children), YL's and XYL's and the OM's, plus free soda for all."

Adjective
  1. 1
    Pertaining to harmony.
  2. 2
    Pleasant to hear; harmonious; melodious.

    "harmonic twang of leather, horn, and brass."

  3. 3
    Used to characterize various mathematical entities or relationships supposed to bear some resemblance to musical consonance.

    "The harmonic polar line of an inflection point of a cubic curve is the component of the polar conic other than the tangent line."

  4. 4
    Recurring periodically.
  5. 5
    Exhibiting or applying constraints on what vowels (e.g. front/back vowels only) may be found near each other and sometimes in the entire word.
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  1. 6
    Of or relating to a generation an even number of generations distant from a particular person.

    "A person is harmonic with respect to members of his own generation and with respect to members of all even-numbered generations counting away from his own (e.g., his grandparents' generation, his grandchildren's generation, etc.)."

Adjective
  1. 1
    involving or characterized by harmony wordnet
  2. 2
    relating to vibrations that occur as a result of vibrations in a nearby body wordnet
  3. 3
    of or relating to harmony as distinct from melody and rhythm wordnet
  4. 4
    of or relating to the branch of acoustics that studies the composition of musical sounds wordnet
  5. 5
    of or relating to harmonics wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
accordantaccordingafassonantassonantalattuned

Example

More examples

"In particular, it is customary for actual examples of use of the harmonic mean to generally cover "average speed," and explain no further than that."

Etymology

From Latin harmonicus, from Ancient Greek ἁρμονικός (harmonikós), from ἁρμονία (harmonía, “harmony”). By surface analysis, harmony + -ic.

Related phrases

abstract harmonic analysisarithmetico-harmonicfalse harmonicharmonic addition theoremharmonic analysisharmonic analyzerharmonic balancerharmonic boundingharmonic brickharmonic conjugateharmonic conjugate functionharmonic coordinates

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.