What is the difference between inappropriate and incongruous?
inappropriate | incongruous |
Not appropriate; not suitable for the situation, time, and/or place.
Not similar or congruent; not matching or fitting in.
* 1853 , , Villette , ch. 34:
*
* 1912 , , A Son Of The Sun m ch. 1:
* 2014 , Daniel Taylor, England and Wayne Rooney see off Scotland in their own back yard'' (in ''The Guardian , 18 November 2014)[http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/nov/18/scotland-england-international-friendly-match-report]
(math) Of two numbers, with respect to a third, such that their difference can not be divided by it without a remainder.
As adjectives the difference between inappropriate and incongruous
is that inappropriate is not appropriate; not suitable for the situation, time, and/or place while incongruous is not similar or congruent; not matching or fitting in.inappropriate
English
Adjective
(en adjective)- It is inappropriate to burp at a formal dinner.
- "While PDA or sexual irresponsibility may be considered unsuitable, it is not inappropriate for teenagers in a relationship and nearly of legal age to talk alone."
Synonyms
* out of line * unfit * unsuitableDerived terms
* inappropriately * inappropriatenessincongruous
English
Adjective
(en adjective)- [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.
- Ona was blue-eyed and fair, while Jurgis had great black eyes with beetling brows, and thick black hair that curled in waves about his ears—in short, they were one of those incongruous and impossible married couples with which Mother Nature so often wills to confound all prophets.
- 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.
- 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.
- 20 and 25 are incongruous with respect to 4.
