incompatibility

noun

in·​com·​pat·​i·​bil·​i·​ty ˌin-kəm-ˌpa-tə-ˈbi-lə-tē 

plural incompatibilities

1

a

: the quality or state of being incompatible

b

: lack of interfertility between two plants

2

incompatibilities plural : mutually antagonistic things or qualities

Examples of incompatibility in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

There’s also the issue known as compatibility, where many drivers are finding their batteries are not being charged because of technical incompatibility between their vehicles and some public charging stations. —Ed Garsten, Forbes, 22 Mar. 2025

When every part of the company works off the same platform, rolling out changes becomes much simpler as there’s no need to worry about incompatibility. —Maksym Kryvoshlyk, Forbes, 24 Oct. 2024

Turkey’s claim that the United States never warned of this incompatibility is simply not true. —Philip H. Gordon, Foreign Affairs, 10 Jan. 2020

In her debut memoir, No Fault: A Memoir of Romance and Divorce, Haley Mlotek shows how this central incompatibility yields a useful provocation: There are hazards in relying on stories as the prevailing metaphor for one’s romantic experiences, and even one’s life in total. —Rachel Vorona Cote, The Atlantic, 19 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1611, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for incompatibility

• communicability
• comprehensibility
• deliverability
• differentiability
• impenetrability
• impermeability
• impracticability
• inaccessibility
• inadmissibility
• inapplicability
• indestructibility
• indispensability

Kids Definition

incompatibility

noun

in·​com·​pat·​i·​bil·​i·​ty ˌin-kəm-ˌpat-ə-ˈbil-ət-ē 

plural incompatibilities

: the quality or state of being incompatible

Medical Definition

incompatibility

noun

in·​com·​pat·​i·​bil·​i·​ty ˌin-kəm-ˌpat-ə-ˈbil-ət-ē 

plural incompatibilities

: the quality or state of being incompatible

chemical incompatibility