strike a chord

1. 1.

   create an emotional response

   “The music struck a chord with the listeners”

   Broaderresonate
2. 2.

   refer to or be relevant or familiar to

   “I hope this message hits home!”

   Synonymshit homestrike homestrike a note

   Broaderaffect
3. 3.

   evoke a reaction, response, or emotion

   “this writer strikes a chord with young women”

   “The storyteller touched a chord”

   Synonymstouch a chord

   Broaderarouse

Questions about strike a chord

What does strike a chord mean?

strike a chord means "create an emotional response". That is the primary sense; the word has 3 in total, listed in full on this page.

What is another word for strike a chord?

Close synonyms include hit home, strike home, strike a note, touch a chord. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is strike a chord a common word?

strike a chord is banded "Uncommon" — turns up in careful writing rather than conversation. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.