1 incommensurability | Definition of incommensurability

incommensurable

adjective
in路​com路​men路​su路​ra路​ble | \ 藢in-k蓹-藞men(t)s-r蓹-b蓹l How to pronounce incommensurable (audio) , -藞men(t)sh-; -藞men(t)-s蓹-, -sh蓹-\

Definition of incommensurable

: not commensurable broadly : lacking a basis of comparison in respect to a quality normally subject to comparison

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Other Words from incommensurable

incommensurability \ 藢in-​k蓹-​藢men(t)s-​r蓹-​藞bi-​l蓹-​t膿 How to pronounce incommensurability (audio) , -​藢men(t)sh-​ ; -​藢men(t)-​s蓹-​ , -​sh蓹-​ \ noun
incommensurable noun
incommensurably \ 藢in-​k蓹-​藞men(t)s-​r蓹-​bl膿 How to pronounce incommensurably (audio) , -​藞men(t)sh-​ ; -​藞men(t)-​s蓹-​ , -​sh蓹-​ \ adverb

Did You Know?

Commensurable means "having a common measure" or "corresponding in size, extent, amount, or degree." Its antonym incommensurable generally refers to things that are unlike and incompatible, sharing no common ground (as in the "incommensurable theories" of the first example sentence), or to things that are very disproportionate, often to the point of defying comparison ("incommensurable crimes"). Both words entered English in the 1500s and were originally used (as they still can be) for numbers that have or don't have a common divisor. They came to English by way of Middle French and Late Latin, ultimately deriving from the Latin noun mensura, meaning "measure." Mensura is also an ancestor of commensurate (meaning "coextensive" or "proportionate") and incommensurate ("disproportionate" or "insufficient"), which overlap in meaning with commensurable and incommensurable but are not exact synonyms.

First Known Use of incommensurable

1570, in the meaning defined above

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