as in paradox
someone or something with qualities or features that seem to conflict with one another
she's an incongruity: an impeccably groomed woman who keeps a messy house
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Recent Examples of incongruity
The incongruity is a source of tension — good tension, to misquote John Lewis — that adds up to 25 years.
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Tom Roland, Billboard, 31 July 2024
The seeming incongruity reflects an ongoing shift in the balance of the rights and restrictions that define the concept of adulthood.
—The Week Uk, theweek, 17 June 2024
As a result, Dern seems both towering and infantile — a study in incongruity that would reappear in several of her finest performances.
—Matthew Jacobs, Vulture, 8 May 2024
In the same way that a child, playing with a teddy bear, learns how her imagination relates to the external world, users reconcile similar incongruities by telling the stories of their lives on TikTok.
—Kim Hew-Low, New York Times, 16 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for incongruity 
Tom Roland, Billboard, 31 July 2024
The seeming incongruity reflects an ongoing shift in the balance of the rights and restrictions that define the concept of adulthood.
—The Week Uk, theweek, 17 June 2024
As a result, Dern seems both towering and infantile — a study in incongruity that would reappear in several of her finest performances.
—Matthew Jacobs, Vulture, 8 May 2024
In the same way that a child, playing with a teddy bear, learns how her imagination relates to the external world, users reconcile similar incongruities by telling the stories of their lives on TikTok.
—Kim Hew-Low, New York Times, 16 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for incongruity
Thesaurus Entries Near incongruity
Cite this Entry
“Incongruity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/incongruity. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
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