Meaning & use
incongruity
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Meanings
nouncountable or uncountable
A lack of harmony or agreement between things that seem odd or out of place together.
Grammar: Can be countable (an incongruity) or uncountable (the incongruity of the situation).
Patterns
- incongruity between something and something
- incongruity of something
- an incongruity in something
The incongruity between his formal suit and his muddy boots made everyone smile.
There is a strange incongruity in the way she talks about saving money but spends so much.
The film uses incongruity to create humor—a serious speech delivered by a clown.
nouncountable
An instance of something being out of place or inconsistent.
Grammar: Often used in the plural: incongruities.
Patterns
- incongruities in something
- a glaring incongruity
The report pointed out several incongruities in the witness's story.
The design has one glaring incongruity: a modern glass wall next to a medieval tower.
Word forms
| plural | incongruities |
|---|
Common combinations
- incongruity between
- There is a clear incongruity between his words and his actions.
- a sense of incongruity
- She felt a sense of incongruity at the fancy party in such a casual outfit.
- glaring incongruity
- The painting's bright colors are a glaring incongruity in the gray room.
- incongruity of
- The incongruity of a beach umbrella in the snow amused the children.
Synonyms and how they differ
- inconsistency
- Inconsistency often refers to things that don't match logically, while incongruity emphasizes an odd or jarring visual or situational mismatch.
- discrepancy
- Discrepancy is used for differences between facts or numbers that should agree; incongruity is more about a strange or unsuitable combination.
- mismatch
- Mismatch is more informal and direct, often for pairs that don't go together; incongruity can be more subtle and literary.
Opposites
Word family
- incongruous adjective
- Not in harmony or keeping with the surroundings; out of place.
- incongruously adverb
- In a way that seems out of place or inconsistent.
Commonly confused: incongruity or incongruent?
incongruity vs incongruent
Incongruent is a related adjective meaning not congruent or not matching; incongruity is the noun for the state or quality.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'incongruity' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Option 0 correctly uses 'incongruity' as a noun meaning an odd mismatch. Option 1 uses it as an adverb, which is wrong; the adverb is 'incongruously'. Option 2 uses it as a verb, but it is a noun. Option 3 makes no sense because incongruity is not a feeling like happiness.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “incongruity”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.