What does congrue mean?
"Congrue" is a rare verb meaning to be in agreement, accord, or consistency with something else. To say that two things congrue is to say that they fit together without contradiction — that a person's conduct matches their professed principles, or that one account of events aligns with another. The word derives from Latin roots shared with "congruent" and "incongruous", and it belongs to the same family of ideas about fittingness and harmony. In practice, "congrue" has largely fallen out of everyday English; it survives mainly in older formal, theological, or philosophical prose, where writers needed a compact way to express agreement or correspondence. Today's readers are far more likely to encounter its relatives — "congruent", "congruity", and "incongruity" — than the verb itself, and modern writers seeking the same sense typically choose "agree", "accord", "correspond", or "harmonize". It remains a curiosity worth knowing for readers of older texts.
verbTo be in agreement or accord; to correspond consistently with something else. A rare, chiefly formal verb meaning to harmonize or fit together without contradiction.
- To agree, be consistent, or be in harmony with something (the only established sense; rare and largely obsolete in everyday use).
"His actions did not congrue with the ideals he professed."
"The testimony of the witnesses congrued in every particular."
"A theory must congrue with observed facts to command assent."
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of congrue
"Congrue" comes from the Latin verb congruere, meaning "to come together, agree, or coincide", formed from com- (together) plus an element related to meeting or fitting. The word passed into English during the early modern period, when many learned Latin verbs were adopted into scholarly prose. Its descendants in English include the much more familiar "congruent", "congruity", and "incongruous", all drawn from the same Latin root and all preserving the core idea of things agreeing or failing to agree.
Related word forms
How congrue is actually used
Extremely rare in modern usage; found mainly in older formal or philosophical writing. Modern writers almost always use 'agree', 'accord', or the adjective 'congruent' instead.
Easily confused with congrue
'Construe' means to interpret the meaning of something, while 'congrue' means to be in agreement or harmony.