incongruous
Americanadjective
-
out of keeping or place; inappropriate; unbecoming.
an incongruous effect; incongruous behavior.
- Synonyms:
- absurd, ludicrous, ridiculous, unsuitable, discrepant
- Antonyms:
- appropriate, becoming
-
not harmonious in character; inconsonant; lacking harmony of parts.
an incongruous mixture of architectural styles.
- Synonyms:
- discordant, inharmonious
- Antonyms:
- consonant
-
inconsistent.
actions that were incongruous with their professed principles.
- Synonyms:
- contradictory, contrary
- Antonyms:
- consistent
adjective
-
incompatible with (what is suitable); inappropriate
-
containing disparate or discordant elements or parts
Synonym Usage
See inconsistent.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of incongruous
First recorded in 1605–15, incongruous is from the Latin word incongruus “inconsistent.” See in- 3, congruous
Explanation
Something that's incongruous is inconsistent or incompatible with something else. Remember that Sesame Street song "One of these things is not like the other"? They were talking about that one thing being incongruous. If we break it down into its Latin roots, incongruous is formed by adding in, meaning “not," to congruous, which means “suitable, proper.” So, something that is incongruous is "not suitable or proper" — in other words, not in harmony with everything else. That's why burping at the dinner table could be called incongruous behavior: it's not proper and certainly doesn't go well with the main course.
Vocabulary lists containing incongruous
Grade 10, List 2
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Brave New World
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This Week in Words: September 29 - October 5, 2018
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“This is more a reflection of a truly incongruous U.S. stance than infighting in Tehran,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 18, 2026
We raise these concerns at a time when investor reactions often seem incongruous with reality.
From Barron's • Apr. 15, 2026
They called the place La Ciénega, a corruption of an Indigenous word and an incongruous name — the swamp — in a desert wasteland.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 6, 2025
The backlash was immediate from a subset of the brand’s fans, who saw the plant-based sausage as incongruous with the old-country-store experience.
From Salon • Aug. 22, 2025
But then again, when I think about it, there’s a sense in which that picture of us on that first day, huddled together in front of the farmhouse, isn’t so incongruous after all.
From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
