MEANING
1. So different or conflicting that they cannot both be true, accepted, or sustained under the relevant conditions.
2. Unable to work together successfully because of differences in requirements, design, or functioning.
Use it for
identifying assumptions that cannot jointly hold; showing a conflict between a practice and a principle; distinguishing contradiction from mere disagreementDistinguishes logical conflict from practical inability to function together. Academic functions: Comparison / Contrast.
Words that belong together
- mutually incompatible assumptions
- incompatible with the evidence
- incompatible objectives
On the page
The two estimates rely on mutually incompatible assumptions about missing data.
The practice is incompatible with the principle of equal access described in the policy.
The archives used incompatible data formats, preventing a direct merger of records.
The two assessment systems were incompatible because they classified outcomes differently.
Nearby words
Opposite meanings
Word forms
- Base
- incompatible
Usage notes
Usually incompatible with. Degree modifiers such as fundamentally or partly require a stated respect; no ordinary -er/-est forms. Register: neutral. Commonness: moderately common (qualitative editorial estimate, informed by dictionaries/corpus).
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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