ShmoopTube

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Here's your Shmoop du jour, brought to you by psychopathological processes. Even psychologists

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have a hard time saying that.

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Based on its context in the passage, which of the following would be the best definition

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for the word "incongruence" in line 17?

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"Congruous" by itself describes something that's totally in harmony.

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But put the prefix "in," which can mean "not," in front of it, and all of a sudden

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the word means "not harmonious."

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With that in mind we can troll through the choices and find the one that fits.

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(A) is the most obviously incorrect. Something that's incongruous would not be "sensible

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or complementary."

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In fact, it would probably be insensible and uncomplimentary. Notice how we busted out

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our prefixes there?

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"Primitive" sounds like the word "primate,"

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which reminds us of monkeys or apes.

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This in turn reminds us that the word can describe something that's not evolved.

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Of course, this doesn't match our definition for "incongruous," so we'll have to

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eliminate (C). Just because something is "incongruous"

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doesn't mean it's not worth our attention.

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Furthermore, if it's ridiculous, we generally like to pay even more attention it.

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Choice (D) is incorrect.

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(B) is best answer. Something that's "incongruous" would definitely be unexpected and out of place.

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But, hey, what fun is life without a few surprises?

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