incommensurate

adjective

in·​com·​men·​su·​rate ˌin-kə-ˈmen(t)-s(ə-)rət How to pronounce incommensurate (audio)
-ˈmen(t)-sh(ə-)rət
: not commensurate: such as
c
: disproportionate
a confidence incommensurate with their ability

Examples of incommensurate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The vocalizations of birds are fundamentally incommensurate with human ones. Rivka Galchen, The New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2024 Diasporic artists must navigate incommensurate signifying systems, occupying a borderline position that forces them to fuse avant-garde features with others of a popular or academic nature. Manuel Borja-Villel, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2024 Cities boom, then bust or stagnate, leaving public infrastructure that is incommensurate with present needs. Alec MacGillis, The New Yorker, 26 Aug. 2024 Quite simply, the current approach to climate cooperation is incommensurate with the gravity of the crisis. Jessica F. Green, Foreign Affairs, 12 Nov. 2021 How incommensurate with our small, breakable animal bodies — this awful, awesome notion, the infinite. Sara Holdren, Vulture, 12 Sep. 2023 Despite the complexity of these latter ideas, her use of diagrams and figures helps to reinforce their approachability—although in some cases their incommensurate simplicity feels unsatisfying. Amy Brady, Scientific American, 20 June 2023 The problem, as Leavis understood, is that science and the humanities are inherently incommensurate endeavors. Paula Marantz Cohen, WSJ, 28 July 2017 Open the front door to chef-owner Genet Agonafer’s restaurant, a dining room that seems both a local fixture and oddly incommensurate with the neighborhood. Amy Scattergood, latimes.com, 9 June 2017

Word History

First Known Use

1650, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of incommensurate was in 1650

Dictionary Entries Near incommensurate

Cite this Entry

“Incommensurate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/incommensurate. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

incommensurate

adjective
in·​com·​men·​su·​rate ˌin-kə-ˈmen(t)s-(ə-)rət How to pronounce incommensurate (audio)
-ˈmench-(ə-)rət
: not commensurate: as
a
: inadequate
funds incommensurate with need
b
: disproportionate
a confidence incommensurate with his ability
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