Synonyms for inconsistent
- adjective
Synonyms by meaning
Adjective
1. Contradictory — not consistent, Lacking internal consistency; self-contradicting; not compatible with itself
contradictory, incompatible, incongruous, irreconcilable, conflicting, contrary, uneven, different, spotty, repugnant, discordant, mixed, opposite, dissonant, assorted, antagonistic, heterogeneous, inharmonious
2. Absurd
absurd, self-contradictory, incoherent, ridiculous, fallacious, preposterous
Other
discrepant formal, giddy, unconformable
Definitions
- adj. 1
Not consistent: Lacking internal consistency; self-contradicting; not compatible with itself.
He gave an inconsistent account of the evening, saying he called her before eight, but later that he had not talked to her until after nine.
- adj. 2
Not consistent: Not compatible (with another thing); incompatible, discrepant, at odds.
His account of the evening was inconsistent with the security-camera footage.
Related words
- Word family
- inconsistentness inconsistency
- Other spellings
- unconsistent
From weakest to strongest
From the opposite of inconsistent, on the left, to its strongest synonyms, on the right.
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Incompatible primarily signifies unable to sympathize or feel alike; inconsistent means unable to stand together.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- contradictory What they say is contradictory to their feelings.
- incompatible This activity is incompatible with your position.
- incongruous He has an incongruous sounding name which is hard to remember.
- irreconcilable The two political parties are irreconcilable foes.
- absurd Do you really not see how absurd your question is?
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| inconsistent | steady | |
| contradictory | rising | |
| incompatible | steady | |
| incongruous | steady | |
| irreconcilable | steady | |
| absurd | steady |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 5 letters
- mixed1, giddy2
- 6 letters
- absurd2, uneven3, spotty2
- 8 letters
- opposite3, contrary3, assorted3
- 9 letters
- different3, repugnant3, dissonant3
- 10 letters
- ridiculous4, incoherent4, discordant3, fallacious3, discrepant
- 11 letters
- conflicting3, incongruous4
- 12 letters
- incompatible5, preposterous4, antagonistic5, inharmonious
- 13 letters
- contradictory5, heterogeneous5, unconformable
- 14 letters
- irreconcilable6
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (giddy2 = 2 syllables).
In other languages
- Français
- incohérent