incongruent

American  

[in-kong-groo-uhnt, in-kuhn-groo-, -kuhng-] / ɪnˈkɒŋ gru ənt, ˌɪn kənˈgru-, -kəŋ- /

adjective

1. not accordant or in agreement; incongruous.

   All the horrible things she said about him turned out to be incongruent with the man we came to know and trust.

   Synonyms:

   discordant, inharmonious

   Antonyms:

   consonant

2. Chemistry. (of a substance or compound) undergoing a change or changes in composition when undergoing a reaction, as with incongruent melting.

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Other Word Forms

• incongruence noun
• incongruently adverb

Etymology

Origin of incongruent

First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin incongruent- (stem of incongruēns ) “inconsistent”; in- ³, congruent

Explanation

Something that's incongruent doesn't fit. If you saw your teacher speeding around town in a red sports car, blasting music, this would be incongruent with your image of her as very reserved and studious. Use incongruent to describe something that's out of place or incompatible, like the orange house among all the white ones, or a primly dressed little girl who tells dirty jokes at the second grade talent show. In math, two numbers are incongruent when, after being divided by the same number, their remainders are different. The Latin roots of incongruent are in, or "not," and congruentem, "suitable or agreeing."

Example Sentences

"Specifically, we want to test incongruent pairings -- for example, what happens if you hear a drum but see a bird?" said Huang.

From Science Daily • Mar. 20, 2026

As ETF leader Jan van Eck recently observed in these pages, such shareholder activism is particularly incongruent for investment funds that merely mirror stock market indexes.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 15, 2025

“The pieces might be visually incongruent but there is this underlying connection to nature,” Mr. Chen said.

From New York Times • May 11, 2024

“I honestly wish my life was as wild as it has been portrayed !!!,” Spears wrote Monday on Instagram, sharing incongruent footage of herself on horseback on what appeared to be a ranch.

From Los Angeles Times • May 7, 2024

Something inside Doreen lit up, incongruent to the situation, because her voice dripped with excitement.

From "We'll Fly Away" by Bryan Bliss