incongruous
AdjectiveOpen English WordNet
Adjective (1)
- lacking in harmony or compatibility or appropriateness“a plan incongruous with reason”“incongruous behavior”“a joke that was incongruous with polite conversation”Opposite congruentSimilar ironic, inappropriate, discrepant, inharmonious
What does it mean? Question 1 of today’s quiz
Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Origin: L. incongruus. See In- not, and Congruous.
Not congruous; reciprocally disagreeing; not capable of harmonizing or readily assimilating; inharmonious; inappropriate; unsuitable; not fitting; inconsistent; improper; as, an incongruous remark; incongruous behavior, action, dress, etc. “Incongruous mixtures of opinions.” Isaac Taylor “Made up of incongruous parts.” Thomas Babington Macaulay
Incongruous denotes that kind of absence of harmony or suitableness of which the taste and experience of men takes cognizance.— Charles John Smith
Incongruous numbers Arith., two numbers, which, with respect to a third, are such that their difference can not be divided by it without a remainder, the two numbers being said to be incongruous with respect to the third; as, twenty and twenty-five are incongruous with respect to four.
Synonyms: Inconsistent; unsuitable; inharmonious; disagreeing; absurd; inappropriate; unfit; improper. See Inconsistent.
— In·con′wb-a1′>′gru·ous·ly, adverb — In·con′wb-a1′>′gru·ous·ness, noun
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54