mindmap root((不和)) discord implies an intrinsic or essential lack of harmony that produces quarreling, factiousness, or antagonism between persons or things: years of ~ had left their mark on the political party. strife emphasizes a struggle for superiority rather than a fundamental disharmony or incompatibility: during his reign the empire was free of ~. conflict usually stresses the action of forces in opposition but it may also imply a incompatibility or irreconcilability, such as of duties or desires: ~ of professional interests. contention applies to strife or competition that shows itself in quarreling, disputing, or controversy: several points of ~ between the two sides. dissension implies strife or discord and stresses a division into factions: religious ~s threatened to split the colony. difference often in the plural, suggests actual incompatibility or impossibility of reconciliation because of dissimilarity in opinion, character, or nature: decided to negotiate a reconciliation of their ~s. variance implies discord or strife between persons or things arising from a difference in nature, opinion, or interest: cultural ~s delayed the process of national unification.