contrary

[ kon-trer-ee; for 5 also kuhn-trair-ee ]

/ ˈkɒn trɛr i; for 5 also kənˈtrɛər i /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR contrary ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

opposite in nature or character; diametrically or mutually opposed: contrary to fact; contrary propositions.

opposite in direction or position: departures in contrary directions.

being the opposite one of two: I will make the contrary choice.

unfavorable or adverse.

perverse; stubbornly opposed or willful.

noun, plural con·trar·ies.

something that is contrary or opposite: to prove the contrary of a statement.

either of two contrary things.

Logic. a proposition so related to another proposition that both may not be true though both may be false, as with the propositions “All judges are male” and “No judges are male.”

adverb

in opposition; oppositely; counter: to act contrary to one's own principles.

Idioms for contrary

by contraries, contrary to expectation.

on the contrary,

in opposition to what has been stated.
from another point of view: On the contrary, there may be some who would agree with you.

to the contrary,

to the opposite effect: I believe he is innocent, whatever they may say to the contrary.
to a different effect.

Origin of contrary

1200–50; Middle English contrarie < Anglo-French < Latin contrārius. See contra¹, -ary

SYNONYMS FOR contrary

1 contradictory, conflicting, counter.

4 unfriendly, hostile.

5 intractable, obstinate, headstrong, stubborn, pig-headed.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR contrary ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR contrary

4 favorable.

5 obliging, complaisant.

SEE ANTONYMS FOR contrary ON THESAURUS.COM

synonym study for contrary

1. See opposite. 4. Contrary, adverse both describe something that opposes. Contrary conveys an idea of something impersonal and objective whose opposition happens to be unfavorable: contrary winds. Adverse suggests something more personally unfriendly or even hostile; it emphasizes the idea of the resulting misfortune to that which is opposed: The judge rendered a decision adverse to the defendant.

OTHER WORDS FROM contrary

con·trar·i·ly

[kon-trer-uh-lee, kuhn-trair-] /ˈkɒn trɛr ə li, kənˈtrɛər-/, adverb con·trar·i·ness, noun qua·si-con·trar·i·ly, adverb qua·si-con·trar·y, adjective

Words nearby contrary

contrarian, contrariety, contrarily, contrarious, contrariwise, contrary, contrary motion, contrasexual, contrast, contrast bath, contrast enema

Example sentences from the Web for contrariness

The young were thoughtless, they had the root of evil in them, they flew into frivolity from contrariness.

The Manxman |Hall Caine
So great is the contrariness of the tides that even strong winds cannot be relied upon for their effects.

A Floating Home |Cyril Ionides
The wind was completely taken out of his sails and every bit of the Ellis contrariness was roused.

Lucy Maud Montgomery Short Stories, 1907 to 1908 |Lucy Maud Montgomery
This is certainly another instance of the contrariness of Fate.

My Strangest Case |Guy Boothby

He may at times laugh, and in the friendliest spirit tease his wife about her contrariness.

Married Love |Marie Carmichael Stopes

British Dictionary definitions for contrariness

contrary

/ (ˈkɒntrərɪ) /

adjective

opposed in nature, position, etc contrary ideas

(kənˈtrɛərɪ) perverse; obstinate

(esp of wind) adverse; unfavourable

(of plant parts) situated at right angles to each other

logic (of a pair of propositions) related so that they cannot both be true at once, although they may both be false together Compare subcontrary (def. 2), contradictory (def. 3)

noun plural -ries

the exact opposite (esp in the phrase to the contrary)

on the contrary quite the reverse; not at all

either of two exactly opposite objects, facts, or qualities

logic a statement that cannot be true when a given statement is true

adverb (usually foll by to)

in an opposite or unexpected way contrary to usual belief

in conflict (with) or contravention (of) contrary to nature

Derived forms of contrary

contrariness, noun

Word Origin for contrary

C14: from Latin contrārius opposite, from contrā against

Idioms and Phrases with contrariness

contrary

see on the contrary; to the contrary.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

contrary

adjective

noun, plural con·trar·ies.

adverb

Idioms for contrary

Origin of contrary

SYNONYMS FOR contrary

ANTONYMS FOR contrary

synonym study for contrary

OTHER WORDS FROM contrary

Words nearby contrary

Example sentences from the Web for contrariness

British Dictionary definitions for contrariness

adjective

noun plural -ries

adverb (usually foll by to)

Derived forms of contrary

Word Origin for contrary

Idioms and Phrases with contrariness

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

contrary

adjective

noun, plural con·trar·ies.

adverb

Idioms for contrary

Origin of contrary

SYNONYMS FOR contrary

ANTONYMS FOR contrary

synonym study for contrary

OTHER WORDS FROM contrary

Words nearby contrary

Words related to contrariness

Example sentences from the Web for contrariness

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for contrariness

adjective

noun plural -ries

adverb (usually foll by to)

Derived forms of contrary

Word Origin for contrary

Idioms and Phrases with contrariness

British Dictionary definitions for contrariness