congruous
adjective
con·gru·ous ˈkäŋ-grü-əs 
1
a
: being in agreement, harmony, or correspondence
Their achievements were congruous with their abilities.
b
: conforming to the circumstances or requirements of a situation : appropriate
… a congruous room to work in …
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw2
: marked or enhanced by harmonious agreement among constituent elements
a congruous theme
congruously adverb
congruousness noun
Did you know?
Congruous has been used in English since at least 1599, when it appeared in the following description: "All the parts of his bodie were in good proportion, and congruous as a man could wish." It has remained more or less true to its Latin roots: it is derived from Latin congruus, an adjective that comes from the verb "congruere," which means "to come together" or "to agree." Another familiar "congruere" descendant in English is "congruent," which first appeared at least a century earlier with the same meaning as "congruous." We also acquired "congrue," a verb meaning "to be in harmony" or "to agree," from "congruere," but it has since become obsolete.
Synonyms
- balanced
- consonant
- eurythmic
- eurhythmic
- harmonic
- harmonious
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
the congruous layout of the mansion's formal gardens conveys a sense of both grandeur and intimacy when performing his official duties, the president must be dressed in clothes that are congruous with his high position
Recent Examples on the Web Women organize into efficient and congruous guilds. Hillary Kelly, The Atlantic, 16 June 2022 To speak of the Los Angeles riots, therefore, is to speak of dozens of events involving multiple cities and counties, an overlapping but not always congruous set of memories and perspectives that do not neatly map onto one another. New York Times, 28 Apr. 2022 And getting quantum computers to outlearn traditional machines means finding AI problems that boil down to mathematical operations congruous with quantum physics. Quanta Magazine, 4 Feb. 2022 These capabilities may have served those departments well in the moment, but not in a congruous way with other parts of the organization. Omri Kohl, Forbes, 8 Sep. 2021 To be fully embedded in the DNA and fabric of the organization, the tone at the top must be consistent and congruous with what is going on in the rest of the organization. Patricia Lenkov, Forbes, 10 May 2021 This describes a state in which everyone is following the strategy and moving as one congruous unit. Ira Gostin, Forbes, 5 May 2021 Vattamala suspects that many Asian Americans vote on specific issues like health care, education and immigration, casting votes for the candidate congruous with their needs and concerns, rather than remaining with one party. NBC News, 11 Nov. 2019 The point is that the incentives for the persons involved in the decision were not necessarily congruous. Michael Mccann, SI.com, 17 June 2019 See More
Hillary Kelly, The Atlantic, 16 June 2022 To speak of the Los Angeles riots, therefore, is to speak of dozens of events involving multiple cities and counties, an overlapping but not always congruous set of memories and perspectives that do not neatly map onto one another. New York Times, 28 Apr. 2022 And getting quantum computers to outlearn traditional machines means finding AI problems that boil down to mathematical operations congruous with quantum physics. Quanta Magazine, 4 Feb. 2022 These capabilities may have served those departments well in the moment, but not in a congruous way with other parts of the organization. Omri Kohl, Forbes, 8 Sep. 2021 To be fully embedded in the DNA and fabric of the organization, the tone at the top must be consistent and congruous with what is going on in the rest of the organization. Patricia Lenkov, Forbes, 10 May 2021 This describes a state in which everyone is following the strategy and moving as one congruous unit. Ira Gostin, Forbes, 5 May 2021 Vattamala suspects that many Asian Americans vote on specific issues like health care, education and immigration, casting votes for the candidate congruous with their needs and concerns, rather than remaining with one party. NBC News, 11 Nov. 2019 The point is that the incentives for the persons involved in the decision were not necessarily congruous. Michael Mccann, SI.com, 17 June 2019 See More Word History
Etymology
Latin congruus, from congruere to come together, agree
First Known Use
1580, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
congruous
adjective
1
as in symmetrical
having the parts agreeably related the congruous layout of the mansion's formal gardens conveys a sense of both grandeur and intimacy Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- symmetrical
- balanced
- harmonic
- symmetric
- elegant
- consonant
- harmonious
- graceful
- pleasing
- cohesive
- artistic
- aesthetic
- eurhythmic
- proportioned
- pleasant
- matching
- satisfying
- matched
- aesthetical
- tasteful
- becoming
- coordinated
- agreeable
- compatible
- eurythmic
- coherent
- felicitous
- regular
- even
- esthetical
- esthetic
- correspondent
- Apollinian
- Apollonian
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- incongruous
- unequal
- unbalanced
- inharmonious
- uneven
- asymmetric
- asymmetrical
- irregular
- disordered
- skewed
- unsymmetrical
- unpleasant
- distasteful
- unfortunate
- disagreeable
- disharmonious
- unbecoming
- inartistic
- incompatible
- inelegant
- tasteless
- unlovely
- disharmonic
- inharmonic
- conflicting
- graceless
- unsightly
- ungraceful
- uncoordinated
- unaesthetic
- displeasing
- infelicitous
- dissatisfying
- disunited
- clashing
2
as in consistent
not having or showing any apparent conflict when performing his official duties, the president must be dressed in clothes that are congruous with his high position Synonyms & Similar Words
- consistent
- compatible
- consonant
- congruent
- accordant
- coherent
- concordant
- harmonious
- nonconflicting
- appropriate
- fitting
- conformable (to)
- suitable
- correspondent (with or to)
- befitting
- self-consistent
- felicitous
- of a piece
- meet
- proper
- fit
- right
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- incompatible
- incongruous
- inconsistent
- conflicting
- improper
- inappropriate
- inharmonious
- unsuitable
- conflictive
- noncompatible
- inapposite
- infelicitous
- inapt