different between contradictory vs incongruous

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin contradictorius, from Latin contradico.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?k?nt???d?kt(?)?i/
• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /?k?nt???d?kt??i/
• Hyphenation: con?tra?dic?to?ry

Adjective

contradictory (comparative more contradictory, superlative most contradictory)

1. That contradicts something, such as an argument.
2. That is itself a contradiction.
3. That is diametrically opposed to something.
4. Mutually exclusive.
5. Tending to contradict or oppose, contrarious.

Synonyms

• opposite
• (mutually exclusive) incompatible

Derived terms

• contradictorily
• contradictoriness
• self-contradictory

Related terms

• contradict
• contradiction
• contradictorious

Translations

Noun

contradictory (plural contradictories)

1. (logic) Either of a pair of propositions, that cannot both be true or both be false.

Hyponyms

• negation

Translations

See also

• oxymoron
• paradox

English

Etymology

From Latin incongruus, from in- (“not”) + congruus (“congruent”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?n?k?n.???u.?s/, /?n?k??.??u.?s/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?n?k?n.??u.?s/, /???k??.??u.?s/

Adjective

incongruous (comparative more incongruous, superlative most incongruous)

1. Not similar or congruent; not matching or fitting in.
   • 1853, Charlotte Brontë, Villette, ch. 34:

     [P]erhaps he thought me, with my basket of summer fruit, and my lack of the dignity age confers, an incongruous figure in such a scene.

   • 1912, Jack London, A Son Of The Sun, ch. 1:

     Ardent suns had likewise tanned his face till it was swarthy as a Spaniard's. The yellow mustache appeared incongruous in the midst of such swarthiness.

   • 2014, Daniel Taylor, England and Wayne Rooney see off Scotland in their own back yard (in The Guardian, 18 November 2014)[1]

     For a few moments England toyed with the idea of making it a more difficult night than necessary. Scotland had scored a goal that seemed incongruous to the rest of their performance and, briefly, a fiercely partisan crowd sensed an improbable comeback.

2. (mathematics) Of two numbers, with respect to a third, such that their difference can not be divided by it without a remainder.

   20 and 25 are incongruous with respect to 4.

Derived terms

• incongruously
• incongruousness

Synonyms

• incongruitous

Related terms

• incongruence
• incongruent
• incongruity

Translations