incongruity

/ɪnkɑŋˈɡɹuɪti/

//ɪnkɑŋˈɡɹuɪti// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"incongruity" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“incongruity” is uncommon English (frequency #75,070 among 2,140 “I” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#75,070
frequency rank, English
2,140
“I” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The state of being incongruous, or lacking congruence.

Corpus desk

Index EN-incongruity · incongruity · English

incongruity · rank #75,070 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #75,070
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH inadvisable

Nearest frequency peer: inadvisable (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “incongruity”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “incongruity” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for incongruity
PropertyValue
Headwordincongruity
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɪnkɑŋˈɡɹuɪti/
Letters11
Frequency rank#75,070
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “incongruity” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).incongruityfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “inadvisable” (#75,069), “indubitably” (#75,071), “inaccessibility” (#75,068). Among 2,140 “I” headwords, “incongruity” is #75,070. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

incongruity is uncommon English at frequency #75,070 among 2,140 “I” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ɪnkɑŋˈɡɹuɪti/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for incongruity, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French incongruité, from Medieval Latin incongruitās, from Latin incongruus. The correct English form is incongruity, spelled I-N-C-O-N-G-R-U-I-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The state of being incongruous, or lacking congruence.
  2. 2
    An instance or point of disagreement.
  3. 3
    A thing that is incongruous.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how incongruity appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. I was told that the Australian Government had had to send my name to London before agreeing to my appointment. My credentials were actually addressed to Her Majesty, despite the fact that the Government of the United Kingdom had recognized the Chinese Communist regime in Peking as early as 1950. No one, however, seemed to notice the incongruity of such an…

Etymology

From Middle French incongruité, from Medieval Latin incongruitās, from Latin incongruus.

This word in other languages

incongruencia(Español)incongruité(Français)Inkongruenz(Deutsch)incongruência(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "incongruity"?
"incongruity" is spelled I-N-C-O-N-G-R-U-I-T-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ɪnkɑŋˈɡɹuɪti/.
What does "incongruity" mean?
As a noun, "incongruity" means: The state of being incongruous, or lacking congruence.
How do you pronounce "incongruity"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "incongruity" is /ɪnkɑŋˈɡɹuɪti/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "incongruity"?
From Middle French incongruité, from Medieval Latin incongruitās, from Latin incongruus. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "incongruity", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

inadvisable#75,069indubitably#75,071intemperate#75,078Greencastle#75,012

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list