➗ Cannot be measured ⚖️ Cannot be compared

incommensurability

9.9

Two lengths or numbers that cannot be measured exactly with the same unit

noun
/ˌɪn.kəˌmɛn.səˈræb.əl.ɪ.ti/

Specialized

: inconmensurabilidad

The concept of incommensurability highlights the challenge of comparing different cultural values.

Examples

In mathematics, the incommensurability of certain values means they cannot be expressed as a simple fraction.
Lindbeck can be misrepresented as offering only a vision of incommensurability as the ultimate roadblock to understanding across religious differences.

Academic text (2007)
It presumes all religions to be incommensurable to a degree, although Buddhism, in relation to Christianity, presents a particularly strong case of incommensurability, in contrast to, say, Judaism or Islam.

Academic text (1999)
The incommensurability between the two measurement systems made it difficult to convert between them.

Synonyms

incomparability

vsincommensurability

8.5

A situation when things cannot be compared because they are very different

is a precise numeric property for quantities not expressible as ratios of whole numbers

Antonyms

commensurability

9.9

When two things can be measured by the same scale so you can compare them

How Commensurable

commensurability

Specialized

9.9

incommensurability

Specialized

9.9

Surface Forms

incommensurability singular

incommensurabilities plural

Morphology

incommensurability = incommensurable (opaque) = in + com + mensur + able + ity

Adding '-ity' to the adjective 'incommensurable' regularly forms a noun naming that property or state.

Etymology

Incommensurability comes from in- 'not' and a root that means measure, like in the word measure, so it literally means 'not measurable together'. That's why in math it describes lengths (for example a circle's circumference and its diameter) that cannot be measured by the same unit and lead to irrational numbers.