different between ridiculous vs incongruous

English

Alternative forms

• rediculous (archaic, eye dialect, or misspelling)
• radiculous (rare, obsolete)

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin r?diculus (“laughable, ridiculous”); see ridicule.

Pronunciation

• (Canada, UK, US) IPA^(key): /???d?kj?l?s/, /?i??d?kj?l?s/
• (Wales) IPA^(key): /???d?kl?s/
• Rhymes: -?kj?l?s

Adjective

ridiculous (comparative more ridiculous, superlative most ridiculous)

1. Deserving of ridicule; foolish; absurd.

   Synonyms: silly, willy nilly, frivolous, goofy, funny, humorous, absurd, odd, surreal, unreasonable; see also Thesaurus:absurd

   Antonyms: straightforward, serious, somber, solemn

2. Astonishing; unbelievable.

Derived terms

• ridic
• ridiculousness

Related terms

• deride
• derision
• ridicule
• ridiculable
• ridiculosity
• ridiculously

Translations

Further reading

• ridiculous at OneLook Dictionary Search
• ridiculous in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• ridiculous in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

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