concordance

concordance — noun

IPA/kənˈkɔːdəns/
IPA/kənˈkɔːrdəns/
  • concordancesingular
  • concordancesplural

1. A reference work that records every significant word from a published text toget

1.nounC1
Definition

A reference work that records every significant word from a published text together with its immediate surroundings, organised alphabetically so that readers can locate each occurrence.

Example

To find every verse with the word "faith," the professor used a Bible concordance.

used a Bible concordance to find every [word]

Gabriel built a digital concordance of Shakespeare's plays for his linguistics project.

Common collocations
  • Bible concordance
  • Shakespeare concordance
  • digital concordance
  • printed concordance
  • compile a concordance
  • consult a concordance
Synonyms
  • index

    A more general term; not every index shows surrounding context like a concordance does.

  • glossary

    Lists only difficult or specialised terms with definitions, not every word occurrence.

  • lexicon

    A dictionary of a language or field; broader in scope than a concordance.

Grammar Patterns

a concordance of [book/author]

consult a concordance

compile a concordance

Usage Note

Often capitalised when referring to a specific published work, e.g. the 'Shakespeare Concordance' or 'Bible Concordance'.

Common Mistakes

A concordance is the same as an index.
A concordance is a specific kind of index that shows each word in its original sentence context.
a standard book index only lists page numbers; a concordance also shows the surrounding text.

2. A situation in which two or more things agree with each other or share similar q

2.nounC1
Definition

A situation in which two or more things agree with each other or share similar qualities.

Example

There is a high concordance between the results of the two studies.

high concordance between [two things]

The concordance of opinions among the committee members surprised the chairperson.

Common collocations
  • high concordance
  • strong concordance
  • concordance between
  • concordance of
  • in concordance with
Synonyms
  • agreement

    More common and less formal; widely used in everyday and academic English.

  • consistency

    Emphasises that something does not change or contradict itself over time.

  • correspondence

    Suggests a direct match or parallel between specific elements.

Antonyms
  • discordance

    The direct opposite; a lack of agreement or harmony.

  • discrepancy

    A difference or gap between things that should match.

Grammar Patterns

concordance between [things]

concordance of [things]

in concordance with

Usage Note

Frequently used in academic and scientific contexts to describe the degree of agreement between data sets, observations, or opinions.

Common Mistakes

There is concordance between the two theories because they are different.
There is concordance between the two theories because they reach the same conclusion.
concordance describes similarity or agreement, not difference.

3. A condition in which different parts fit together well, creating a balanced whol

3.nounC2
Definition

A condition in which different parts fit together well, creating a balanced whole — for instance, in a colour scheme, a musical arrangement, or an architectural design.

Example

The architect praised the concordance of modern and traditional elements in the building.

concordance of [contrasting elements]

Caleb chose colours that would create a sense of visual concordance in the room.

visual concordance — used in design context

Common collocations
  • visual concordance
  • perfect concordance
  • concordance of elements
  • concordance of parts
Synonyms
  • harmony

    The more common word for aesthetic balance; 'concordance' in this sense is quite formal.

  • congruity

    Emphasises logical or structural fit between parts; very formal.

  • unity

    Focuses on the sense of wholeness rather than the fitting of individual parts.

Antonyms
  • discord

    Strong opposition or lack of harmony between parts.

  • disharmony

    A lack of pleasing balance in sound, colour, or design.

Grammar Patterns

concordance of [parts]

in concordance with

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 2 (AGREEMENT): sense 3 emphasises aesthetic or structural balance, while sense 2 focuses on factual similarity or alignment of opinion.

Common Mistakes

The results showed a concordance of colours.' (when talking about data agreement)
The results showed a concordance of data.
use sense 2 for data/results and sense 3 for aesthetic or compositional balance.

concordance — verb

IPA/kənˈkɔː.dəns/
IPA/kənˈkɔːr.dəns/

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/2

All four words describe connections between things, but they differ in scope and focus. 'Agreement' is the broadest and most common term — it covers any situation where two or more parties or items share the same view, result, or quality ('The committee reached an agreement'). 'Consistency' emphasises that something stays the same over time or across contexts, without self-contradiction ('Her testimony showed consistency across all three interviews'). 'Correspondence' highlights a direct, often one-to-one match between specific elements ('There was close correspondence between the map and the satellite images'). 'Harmony' goes beyond factual alignment into aesthetic or emotional balance, suggesting that differences coexist pleasingly ('The harmony of voices in the choir'). 'Concordance' (sense 2) sits closest to 'agreement' but carries a more formal, often statistical tone — it is the preferred word in academic research for describing how closely two data sets match.

agreement ↗consistency ↗correspondence ↗harmony ↗

Common collocations

Prepositions

  • concordance between
  • concordance of
  • in concordance with

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

'Concordance' comes from Latin 'concordantia' meaning 'agreement, harmony', which grew from 'concordare' ('to agree'). The root 'concordare' itself is made of two parts: 'com-' (together) and 'cor', 'cordis' (heart). So the original image is of people being 'of one heart' or 'hearts together'. The word entered English through Old French around the 1300s. The specialised meaning of an alphabetical word index appeared later, since such a book shows how a writer's words 'agree' across different parts of their work.