What does "congruent" mean in geometry?

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In geometry, the term "congruent" specifically refers to figures or shapes that are identical in terms of both size and shape. This means that if two shapes are congruent, they can be perfectly aligned through rotation, translation, or reflection; they will overlap completely. It's important to note that congruency requires both dimensions (lengths of sides) and angles to be the same for the figures.

The other options can cause confusion but do not capture the essence of congruence. Having differing angles and sides clearly indicates that the figures are not congruent, while having equal angles but different sides suggests that the shapes may be similar, but they do not share congruency. Lastly, while having an equal perimeter can be a characteristic of certain shapes, it does not guarantee that those shapes are congruent, as they may differ in other ways such as shape or internal angles. Thus, only having the same size and shape accurately defines congruency in geometric terms.

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