incongruously
2
7.9
- adverb
- /ɪnˈkɒŋɡruəsli/
- The bright pink house looked incongruously out of place among the gray buildings of the old neighborhood.
- sits incongruously
- perched incongruously
- stood incongruously
Examples
-
Leila, incongruously attired in a sexy nightgown and socks, emerges from the bathroom brushing her teeth.
Fiction book (1999) -
Parked incongruously in front of the house is a brand new red Corvette.
Fiction book (1998) -
A take-out pizza sits incongruously on the coffee table.
Fiction book (1993) -
Long, narrow windows showered the room with incongruously bright sunlight.
Fiction book (1992) -
The winter stars of Orion and Taurus shone incongruously in June.
-
Down this boulevard of decay and despair drives an incongruously expensive car—a Range Rover.
Fiction book (1992) -
She laughed incongruously during the serious meeting, making everyone uncomfortable.
-
The elegant ball gown seemed incongruously formal for a backyard barbecue.
Synonyms
148
3.4
In a strange or unexpected way
147
3.2
In an unusual or unexpected way
41
3.4
In a way that is wrong or not suitable for the situation
40
4.5
In a way that is not right for the situation
33
3.5
In a strange or unexpected way
5
6.9
In a way that is strange, surprising, and hard to explain
2
6.2
In a strange way that people notice
1
8.2
In a way that is not normal or expected
1
7.3
In a way that is different from what most people expect
1
9.9
In an awkward or wrong way that causes trouble
1
8.7
In a way that shows bad manners
1
7.5
In a way that does not fit or match something else
Antonyms
How Incongruous
Surface Forms
Morphology
incongruously = incongruous (transparent) = in + congruous + ly
The adverb is formed in the regular way from the adjective 'incongruous' with '-ly' and means 'in an incongruous way'.
Etymology
Incongruously begins with in- meaning 'not' and the rest comes from congruous, which means 'matching' or 'agreeing'. So, to do something incongruously is to do it in a way that does 'not match' the place or what people expect, like bright party clothes at a serious ceremony.