incommensurate
Americanadjective
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not commensurate; disproportionate; inadequate.
Our income is incommensurate to our wants.
adjective
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not commensurate; disproportionate
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incommensurable
Other Word Forms
- incommensurately adverb
- incommensurateness noun
Etymology
Origin of incommensurate
First recorded in 1640–50; in- 3 + commensurate
Explanation
If one thing is incommensurate with another, it doesn't fit or is out of proportion. If your expensive meal doesn't taste very good, you could say its quality is incommensurate with its cost. Things that are incommensurate just don't match — they're disproportionate or off-kilter. Your little brother's loud mouth might be incommensurate with his tiny size, and your small appetite could be incommensurate with the enormous banana split in front of you. The commensurate part of this word comes from the Late Latin commensuratus, literally "measured with," or "equal," and the prefix in- means "not."
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.
“India’s defense modernization over this period has been directionally correct, but at a pace and level of effort that is incommensurate with its threat environment.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 25, 2026
The two surfaces should be incommensurate, which means the potential 'hills' in the molecular structure of one surface should not fit to the potential 'wells' of the other surface.
From Science Daily • Jan. 17, 2024
Despite the complexity of these latter ideas, her use of diagrams and figures helps to reinforce their approachability—although in some cases their incommensurate simplicity feels unsatisfying.
From Scientific American • Jun. 20, 2023
The Chinese government took one of three seats on the subsidiary’s board, wielding a level of influence incommensurate with its nominal stake.
From New York Times • Dec. 20, 2022
It is only in their underlying network of causes that they are dissimilar and incommensurate.
From A Book of Prefaces by Mencken, H. L. (Henry Louis)
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.
