incongruent

[ in-kong-groo-uhnt, in-kuhn-groo-, -kuhng- ]

adjective

1. not accordant or in agreement; incongruous:

   All the horrible things she said about him turned out to be incongruent with the man we came to know and trust.

   Synonyms: discordant, inharmonious

   Antonyms: consonant

2. Chemistry. (of a substance or compound) undergoing a change or changes in composition when undergoing a reaction, as with incongruent melting.

Other Words From

• in·con·gru·ence noun
• in·con·gru·ent·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of incongruent¹

First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin incongruent- (stem of incongruēns ) “inconsistent”; in- ³, congruent

Example Sentences

Such a conclusion is incongruent with what history tells us about such dangerous leaders.

From Salon

The designs included a salted-black landscape of thorns over rubble fields, oddly shaped spikes bursting through an incongruent grid of stone blocks, an unsettling off-pattern of roads which go nowhere, menacing symbols like lightning bolts visible from nearby high-ground — all meant to signal the most primitive, instinctual fear of danger in humans.

From Salon

“The pieces might be visually incongruent but there is this underlying connection to nature,” Mr. Chen said.

From New York Times

“I honestly wish my life was as wild as it has been portrayed !!!,” Spears wrote Monday on Instagram, sharing incongruent footage of herself on horseback on what appeared to be a ranch.

From Los Angeles Times

The meditative ritual might appear incongruent with the raucous epicenter of the nation’s conservative movement, but Mr. Trump’s political creed stands as one of the starkest examples of his effort to transform the Republican Party into a kind of Church of Trump.

From Salon