Meaning & use
congruence
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Meanings
noununcountableformal
A state in which two things fit together well, match, or do not conflict with each other.
Grammar: Usually followed by between or with: congruence between words and actions.
Patterns
- congruence between something and something
- congruence with something
There was little congruence between what the manager promised and what she actually did.
Therapists often look for congruence between a client's feelings and the way they describe them.
The congruence of their goals made the partnership easy.
noununcountablemathematicstechnical
In geometry, the relationship between two shapes that have exactly the same size and shape, so one could be placed exactly over the other.
Grammar: Used as a technical term: the congruence of two triangles.
Patterns
- congruence of something
- congruence between two shapes
The teacher asked us to prove the congruence of the two triangles.
Congruence can be shown if three sides of one triangle equal three sides of another.
Rotating or flipping a shape does not change its congruence with the original.
Common combinations
- a high degree of congruence
- The two witnesses' accounts showed a high degree of congruence.
- lack congruence
- His speech lacked congruence with the company's actual policy.
- congruence between
- Researchers measured the congruence between self-image and behavior.
- prove congruence
- Students must prove congruence before they can state the angles are equal.
Synonyms and how they differ
- agreement
- Agreement is the everyday word and can mean people saying yes, while congruence is more formal and describes things fitting or matching.
- consistency
- Consistency stresses that something does not change or contradict itself over time, whereas congruence stresses two separate things matching.
- harmony
- Harmony adds a feeling of pleasant balance, which congruence does not need to have.
Opposites
Word family
- congruent adjective
- matching or identical in shape and size
- incongruent adjective
- not matching or not fitting together
- incongruity noun
- the quality of being out of place or inconsistent
- congruently adverb
- in a matching way
Commonly confused: congruence or congruity?
congruence vs congruity
Congruity is a close relative meaning general suitability or fit; congruence is the form usually used in geometry.
Practice
In geometry class we learned that two triangles show ____ when every side and angle of one matches the other.
Choose one answer.
Congruence is the exact match of shape and size. Convergence means moving toward one point, which is a different idea.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “congruence”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.