cacophonous. adjective form of cacophony.

what gives us the right to decide an objective form of cacophony? a tritone, maybe, but tritones can be euphonous when the over and undertones abide, in church bells.

instead, perhaps we should look at contrast. two notes, a half-step apart, are cacophonous, no? but those two notes are often used to create larger, more beautiful chords. who doesn't like a major seven chord?