incongruous
Americanadjective
-
out of keeping or place; inappropriate; unbecoming.
an incongruous effect; incongruous behavior.
- Synonyms:
- absurd, ludicrous, ridiculous, unsuitable, discrepant
- Antonyms:
- appropriate, becoming
-
not harmonious in character; inconsonant; lacking harmony of parts.
an incongruous mixture of architectural styles.
- Synonyms:
- discordant, inharmonious
- Antonyms:
- consonant
-
inconsistent.
actions that were incongruous with their professed principles.
- Synonyms:
- contradictory, contrary
- Antonyms:
- consistent
adjective
-
incompatible with (what is suitable); inappropriate
-
containing disparate or discordant elements or parts
Synonym Usage
See inconsistent.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of incongruous
First recorded in 1605–15, incongruous is from the Latin word incongruus “inconsistent.” See in- 3, congruous
Explanation
Something that's incongruous is inconsistent or incompatible with something else. Remember that Sesame Street song "One of these things is not like the other"? They were talking about that one thing being incongruous. If we break it down into its Latin roots, incongruous is formed by adding in, meaning “not," to congruous, which means “suitable, proper.” So, something that is incongruous is "not suitable or proper" — in other words, not in harmony with everything else. That's why burping at the dinner table could be called incongruous behavior: it's not proper and certainly doesn't go well with the main course.
Vocabulary lists containing incongruous
Grade 10, List 2
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Brave New World
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This Week in Words: September 29 - October 5, 2018
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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.
The authority said the site would be "incongruous" and allow rollercoasters of "excessive scale" to have an "overbearing and oppressive" presence in the area.
From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2026
But I don’t think they’re incongruous at all.
From Slate ● Sep. 16, 2026
Still, a dyed-in-the-wool New Yorker with an estimable European operatic pedigree could also appear an incongruous fit for L.A., which came to opera quite late in any kind of consistent or intrinsic way.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026
And in “Zootopia 2,” incongruous animals live together with no threat of being eaten.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
Somewhere nearby an incongruous sound shook the dark, an air hammer pounding like a machine gun.
From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
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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.
