incommensurable

American  

[in-kuh-men-ser-uh-buhl, -sher-] / ˌɪn kəˈmɛn sər ə bəl, -ʃər- /

adjective

1. not commensurable; having no common basis, measure, or standard of comparison.

2. utterly disproportionate.

3. Mathematics. (of two or more quantities) having no common measure.

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noun

1. something that is incommensurable.

2. Mathematics. one of two or more incommensurable quantities.

incommensurable British  

/ ˌɪnkəˈmɛnʃərəbəl /

adjective

1. incapable of being judged, measured, or considered comparatively

2. not in accordance; incommensurate

3. maths

   1. (of two numbers) having an irrational ratio

   2. not having units of the same dimension

   3. unrelated to another measurement by integral multiples

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noun

1. something incommensurable

Other Word Forms

• incommensurability noun
• incommensurableness noun
• incommensurably adverb

Etymology

Origin of incommensurable

From the Late Latin word incommēnsūrābilis, dating back to 1550–60. See in- ³, commensurable

Example Sentences

It would be naive not to acknowledge that there is an incommensurable issue at the base of all of this.

From Washington Post

In fact, no matter how tiny you make the bits, it is impossible to choose a common yardstick that will measure both the side and the diagonal perfectly: the diagonal is incommensurable with the side.

From Literature

As a consequence of the vanishing point, artists found themselves living simultaneously in two incommensurable worlds.

From Literature

As the late philosopher Lawrence Becker proclaimed, “autonomous human lives have a dignity that is immeasurable, incommensurable, infinite, beyond price.”

From Scientific American

He actually comes to the conclusion that the new view is incommensurable with the old one.

From Salon

Related Words

• disparate
• dissimilar
• distinct
• divergent
• unalike
• unlike
• unsimilar