different between incongruous vs ludicrous

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

English

Etymology

First attested in 1619. From Latin l?dicrus, from l?d? (“play”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?lu?.d?.k??s/, /?lju?.d?.k??s/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?lu?.d?.k??s/

Adjective

ludicrous (comparative more ludicrous, superlative most ludicrous)

1. Idiotic or unthinkable, often to the point of being funny.

2. Amusing by being plainly incongruous or absurd.
   • 2014, Paul Doyle, "Southampton hammer eight past hapless Sunderland in barmy encounter", The Guardian, 18 October 2014:

     Five minutes later, Southampton tried to mount their first attack, but Wickham sabotaged the move by tripping the rampaging Nathaniel Clyne, prompting the referee, Andre Marriner, to issue a yellow card. That was a lone blemish on an otherwise tidy start by Poyet’s team – until, that is, the 12th minute, when Vergini produced a candidate for the most ludicrous own goal in Premier League history.

Synonyms

• (idiotic or unthinkable): laughable, ridiculous, risible

Related terms

• (idiotic or unthinkable): ludicrously, ludicrousness

Translations