incompatible

[ in-kuhm-pat-uh-buhl ]

adjective

1. not compatible; unable to exist together in harmony:

   She asked for a divorce because they were utterly incompatible.

   Synonyms: unsuited, inharmonious, unsuitable

2. contrary or opposed in character; discordant:

   incompatible colors.

   Synonyms: contradictory, inharmonious

3. that cannot coexist or be conjoined.
4. Logic.
   1. (of two or more propositions) unable to be true simultaneously.
   2. (of two or more attributes of an object) unable to belong to the object simultaneously; inconsistent.
5. (of positions, functions, ranks, etc.) unable to be held simultaneously by one person.
6. Medicine/Medical. of or relating to biological substances that interfere with one another physiologically, as different types of blood in a transfusion.
7. Pharmacology. of or relating to drugs that interfere with one another chemically or physiologically and therefore cannot be mixed or prescribed together.

noun

1. Usually incompatibles. incompatible persons or things.
2. an incompatible drug or the like.
3. incompatibles, Logic.
   1. two or more propositions that cannot be true simultaneously.
   2. two or more attributes that cannot simultaneously belong to the same object.

incompatible

/ ˌɪnkəmˈpætəbəl /

adjective

1. incapable of living or existing together in peace or harmony; conflicting or antagonistic
2. opposed in nature or quality; inconsistent
3. (of an office, position, etc) only able to be held by one person at a time
4. med (esp of two drugs or two types of blood) incapable of being combined or used together; antagonistic
5. logic (of two propositions) unable to be both true at the same time
6. of plants
   1. not capable of forming successful grafts
   2. incapable of fertilizing each other
7. See inconsistent
   maths another word for inconsistent

noun

1. often plural a person or thing that is incompatible with another

Derived Forms

• ˌincomˌpatiˈbility, noun
• ˌincomˈpatibly, adverb

Other Words From

• incom·pati·bili·ty incom·pati·ble·ness noun
• incom·pati·bly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of incompatible¹

From the Medieval Latin word incompatibilis, dating back to 1555–65. See in- ³, compatible

Synonym Study

See inconsistent.

Example Sentences

Violence is incompatible with the exercise of democratic rights and freedoms.

From Washington Post

The law prohibits employers from firing, demoting or otherwise retaliating against workers who refuse to take part in activities they believe are incompatible with public health and safety mandates.

From Fortune

Additionally, the amount of data being collected by companies was exploding, but they usually spread it across many storage facilities and kept it in incompatible formats.

From Fortune

One section of the ordinance, which regulates behavior around elections, campaign finance and lobbying, bans so-called “incompatible activities.”

From Voice of San Diego

To meet global demand, producers have continued to burn coal at a rate that’s incompatible with international climate goals and a stable climate.

From Quartz

Interesting that those who sat in judgment of him found those two sets of beliefs to be incompatible.

From The Daily Beast

But the site is incompatible with special screen reading software that would make it accessible to blind readers.

From The Daily Beast

She was a New Woman: She demanded the vote but also a life in which being married and having a career were not incompatible.

From The Daily Beast

Many jazz fans were puzzled by this finding, which seems incompatible with the lackluster sales figures in the genre.

From The Daily Beast

Indeed, the idea that an elected official should act exactly as voters demand is incompatible with the way our government works.

From The Daily Beast

Frankly, we must say that this is inconceivably incompatible with Señor Paternoʼs clear intelligence.

From Project Gutenberg

Glory is not incompatible with youth, and the hero of the 26th February may become the hero of the 9th January.

From Project Gutenberg

Surely they must possess certain merits which do not harmonise together and certain virtues which are incompatible.

From Project Gutenberg

Certainly, the existence of such old ruins of the middle-ages is incompatible with the grandeurs of modern Paris.

From Project Gutenberg

You have seen, Madam, in my preceding letter, the incompatible and contradictory ideas which this religion gives us of the Deity.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• conflicting
• inappropriate
• incongruous
• inconsistent
• irreconcilable
• unsuitable
• unsuited