incommensurable
Americanadjective
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not commensurable; having no common basis, measure, or standard of comparison.
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utterly disproportionate.
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Mathematics. (of two or more quantities) having no common measure.
noun
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something that is incommensurable.
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Mathematics. one of two or more incommensurable quantities.
adjective
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incapable of being judged, measured, or considered comparatively
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not in accordance; incommensurate
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maths
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(of two numbers) having an irrational ratio
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not having units of the same dimension
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unrelated to another measurement by integral multiples
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noun
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
As the language instinct results in “the great variety of human languages,” so the mattering instinct results, Ms. Goldstein writes, in “the great variety of incommensurable forms of human life.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 9, 2026
It would be naive not to acknowledge that there is an incommensurable issue at the base of all of this.
From Washington Post • May 13, 2022
The fundamental problem of the calendar is to reconcile the incommensurable lengths of the day, month, and year.
From Textbooks • Oct. 13, 2016
The ongoing calls for transparency put pressure on ZPM to carry on all of its business in public, but transparency and efficacy can be incommensurable ideals.
From New York Times • Apr. 30, 2015
As a consequence of the vanishing point, artists found themselves living simultaneously in two incommensurable worlds.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
