incommensurate
not corresponding in size or degree
Roots
- im- / in- (not): not or without
- mensur / meas: measure, proportion, or size
Other words with the mensur / meas root
- commensurable: measurable by the same standard; comparable
- commensurate: corresponding in size or degree
- incommensurable: not measurable by the same standard
- measure: to find size or amount; a standard of amount
- measurement: the act or result of measuring
- mensuration: measurement, especially of geometric figures
Mensur gives measure. Incommensurate things do not match in size, degree, or scale.
The punishment was incommensurate with the mistake.
Incommensurate is a scale problem. Two things are being compared, but the measures do not line up: the penalty is too large, the reward too small, the reaction out of proportion.
Keep the measuring-stick image. The word is formal, but the feeling is simple: this does not fit the size of that.