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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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.
Recent Examples of incongruity This is the incongruity that fuels Universal Language, Matthew Rankin’s glorious parody-slash-ode to someone else’s shadows-on-a-wall missives — a gesture of decontextualization that layers one country’s extraordinary visual poetry over another’s extreme blandness. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 14 Feb. 2025 The natural state of life is that of incongruity; thus, better have your boxes ready. Colin Fleming, New York Daily News, 22 Jan. 2025 Setting aside the delightful incongruity between the coach who once promised to bite off peoples’ kneecaps and his miniature companions, the fourth-down factor is a big part of what makes the Lions Must-See TV. Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 17 Jan. 2025 The incongruity of profit maximization was brought to public attention in the UK recently, as the scale of river pollution from water utility companies becomes ever more apparent. Aissa Dearing, JSTOR Daily, 9 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for incongruity

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“Incongruity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/incongruity. Accessed 29 Apr. 2025.

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