incongruent

American  

[in-kong-groo-uhnt, in-kuhn-groo-, -kuhng-] / ɪnˈkɒŋ gru ənt, ˌɪn kənˈgru-, -kəŋ- /

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.

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Other Word Forms

• incongruence noun
• incongruently adverb

Etymology

Origin of incongruent

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

Example Sentences

"Specifically, we want to test incongruent pairings -- for example, what happens if you hear a drum but see a bird?" said Huang.

From Science Daily • Mar. 20, 2026

As ETF leader Jan van Eck recently observed in these pages, such shareholder activism is particularly incongruent for investment funds that merely mirror stock market indexes.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 15, 2025

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

From Salon • Nov. 4, 2024

Over the years, he has patented several ways to make a shallow three-dimensional picture that’s visible with the naked eye, often by strobing between two similar but incongruent frames like a kind of overlapping stereoscope.

From New York Times • Jun. 29, 2023

Something inside Doreen lit up, incongruent to the situation, because her voice dripped with excitement.

From "We'll Fly Away" by Bryan Bliss