incongruent
Americanadjective
-
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
-
Chemistry. (of a substance or compound) undergoing a change or changes in composition when undergoing a reaction, as with incongruent melting.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of incongruent
First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin incongruent- (stem of incongruēns ) “inconsistent”; see 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."
Vocabulary lists containing incongruent
All My Rage
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Brain on Fire
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Ms. Bixby's Last Day
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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.
“It’s one of those things that people point to as alarming and it’s just incongruent with everything else.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
"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
Such a conclusion is incongruent with what history tells us about such dangerous leaders.
From Salon ● Nov. 4, 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
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
