incongruously

adverb

as in inappropriately

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Example Sentences

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 incongruously Along beaches that had been stripped of their vegetation, icebergs sat incongruously high on rocks. — Megan I. Gannon, Scientific American, 6 May 2026 One side story, of a former pro athlete caught in a downward spiral of violence, addiction, and ill health, feels incongruously grim. — Judy Berman, Time, 11 Mar. 2026 What remains is an incongruously passive and intense ride that feels eerily algorithmic throughout. — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 23 Jan. 2026 Every surreal interaction, every drab office, every incongruously adoring wife is another turn through the same loop. — Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2025 Also incongruously quick for his size is Tustin junior defensive lineman Jeremiah Williams (6-1, 311). — Steve Fryer, Oc Register, 12 Sep. 2025 Where to Stay Recently opened and incongruously-located inside the city's half-glitzy, half-tacky Phoenix MarketCity shopping mall, Design Hotel by jüSTa is a quirky option from the creative team at Urban Studio in Mumbai. — David Jefferys, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Apr. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for incongruously
  1. inappropriately
  2. improperly
  3. wrongly
  4. incorrectly
  5. unsuitably
Adverb
  • The governor’s office inappropriately used $421,822 meant for their own office to subsidize other agencies.
    — Jack Harvel, Kansas City Star, 3 July 2026
  • Vought’s moves also raise the risk of corruption and outside groups inappropriately influencing funding decisions.
    — Lisa Jarvis, Mercury News, 27 June 2026
Definition of inappropriately
Adverb
  • The most recent controversy came in January, when the county paid $135,000 to settle a lawsuit that accused Kramer of improperly slashing a property’s value by millions of dollars — then retaliating against the employee who raised alarms about it.
    — Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 7 July 2026
  • The new complaint accused Bojangles of failing to adequately secure employee data, misleading workers about how safe its systems were and improperly benefiting by skimping on cybersecurity.
    — Chase Jordan July 7, Charlotte Observer, 7 July 2026
Definition of improperly
Adverb
  • Historically, Black and brown students are more often wrongly identified as needing special education than their peers.
    — Jonaki Mehta, NPR, 2 July 2026
  • Based on Harper Lee's seminal novel, the movie casts Gregory Peck as lawyer Atticus Finch, who in Depression-era Alabama defends a Black man wrongly accused of raping a young white woman.
    — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 1 July 2026
Definition of wrongly
Adverb
  • In 2021, then-F1 race director Michael Masi incorrectly applied the rules around such a situation and did not let all lapped runners overtake.
    — Alex Kalinauckas, New York Times, 7 July 2026
  • Mistakes to Avoid While baking soda is an effective way to kill stubborn garden weeds, using this technique incorrectly can hurt your garden instead of help it.
    — Madeline Buiano, Martha Stewart, 4 July 2026
Definition of incorrectly
Adverb
  • The official investigation found no fault with either aircraft but that three planes had occupied the same airspace, which was deemed to have been unsuitably monitored over the Kharkiv region.
    — Colin Millar, New York Times, 27 June 2026
Definition of unsuitably

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incongruous
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Cite this Entry

“Incongruously.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/incongruously. Accessed 9 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on incongruously

Nglish: Translation of incongruously for Spanish Speakers

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