incongruity
- noun
- /ˌɪn.kənˈɡruː.ɪ.ti/
- Some parents described the incongruity between teachers' expectations and their child's inability to meet those expectations.
- an obvious incongruity
- incongruities and contradictions
Such reconstructions will invariably be riddled with incongruities and uncertainties and lacunae.
- Such reconstructions will invariably be riddled with incongruities and uncertainties and lacunae.
- That, that the the incongruity of that just defies logic.
- You're afraid you have, like, social incongruities.
- This incongruity, this slippage between purpose vec and result, the consequences of what it is that you do.
- Like that's an incongruity that that I know I need to resolve in order to continue on this, you know, self actualization, you know, trajectory.
Examples
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In order to appreciate a riddle, children have to discover the incongruity between riddle questions and riddle answers.
Academic text (2013) -
Nothing arrests us, but every incongruity surprises us.
-
And that is definitely an incongruity in the application of the law.
-
Would he assume that this kind of incongruity was a normal part of life in this country?
Fiction book (2001) -
As the words left his mouth, Brian became aware of an incongruity between his speech and theirs.
Fiction book (2002) -
Suddenly they no longer seemed familiar, and a feeling of dreamlike incongruity came over her.
Fiction book (2000) -
Either way, it is the jarring incongruity that brings both surprise and pleasure to the reader.
Academic text (2001) -
Comedy is contingent on incongruity and affinity, not appearance and reality.
Academic text (1990) -
Trulee Pist raises a good point about the incongruity of the entire PA Ave area.
Blog text (15) -
The comedian highlighted the incongruity of wearing shorts in winter, making everyone laugh.
Synonyms
A situation where things do not match or agree
A lack of agreement in what people say, do or think
A combination of people or things that do not go well together
A situation where two things cannot work or live together without problems
A lack of agreement between things or ideas
A situation where people or things do not agree
A situation where people or groups disagree and feel tension
The state of not fitting the place or situation
Lack of agreement between people in a team or group
When something does not agree with rules or expectations
A state where ideas or statements say opposite things and cannot both be true
Antonyms
How Incongruous
Surface Forms
Morphology
incongruity = incongruous (semi-transparent) = in + congru + ity
The noun means 'the state or quality of being incongruous', but the spelling change from 'incongruous' to 'incongruity' makes the derivation less immediately obvious.
Etymology
Incongruity starts with in- meaning 'not' and the rest comes from a root meaning 'to fit together', which you can also see in the word congruous. So an incongruity is something that does not 'fit' or match and feels out of place.