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
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
Hirers across industries describe a recurring scenario: A candidate in their 20s or early 30s applies for a position and requests compensation and benefits incommensurate with experience.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 18, 2022
Ambitious beyond all bounds, but with a capacity singularly incommensurate with his ambition, he believed that money could accomplish everything.
From Narrative of Services in the Liberation of Chili, Peru and Brazil, from Spanish and Portuguese Domination, Volume 1 by Dundonald, Thomas Cochrane, Earl of
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.
