contrary

American  

[kon-trer-ee, kuhn-trair-ee] / ˈkɒn trɛr i, kənˈtrɛər i /

adjective

1. opposite in nature or character; diametrically or mutually opposed.

   contrary to fact; contrary propositions.

   Synonyms:

   counter, conflicting, contradictory

2. opposite in direction or position.

   departures in contrary directions.

3. being the opposite one of two.

   I will make the contrary choice.

4. unfavorable or adverse.

   Synonyms:

   hostile, unfriendly, unfriendly

   Antonyms:

   favorable

5. perverse; stubbornly opposed or willful.

   Synonyms:

   pigheaded, stubborn, headstrong, obstinate, intractable

   Antonyms:

   complaisant, obliging

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noun

plural

contraries

1. something that is contrary or opposite.

   to prove the contrary of a statement.

2. either of two contrary things.

3. 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

1. in opposition; oppositely; counter.

   to act contrary to one's own principles.

idioms

1. by contraries, contrary to expectation.

2. on the contrary,

   1. in opposition to what has been stated.

   2. from another point of view.

      On the contrary, there may be some who would agree with you.

3. to the contrary,

   1. to the opposite effect.

      I believe he is innocent, whatever they may say to the contrary.

   2. to a different effect.

contrary British  

/ ˈkɒntrərɪ /

adjective

1. opposed in nature, position, etc

   contrary ideas

2. perverse; obstinate

3. (esp of wind) adverse; unfavourable

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

5. 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 contradictory

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noun

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

2. quite the reverse; not at all

3. either of two exactly opposite objects, facts, or qualities

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

adverb

1. in an opposite or unexpected way

   contrary to usual belief

2. in conflict (with) or contravention (of)

   contrary to nature

contrary More Idioms  

1. see on the contrary; to the contrary.

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Related Words

See opposite. 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 Word Forms

• contrarily adverb
• contrariness noun
• quasi-contrarily adverb
• quasi-contrary adjective

Etymology

Origin of contrary

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English contrarie, from Anglo-French, from Latin contrārius; equivalent to contra ¹ + -ary

Example Sentences

These can be useful, but it’s important to remember that, contrary to the VPN app, which encrypts your entire device’s connection, the browser extension only protects your browser’s traffic.

From Salon

Some Wall Street analysts are insisting that April — contrary to its label as the cruelest month — is actually one of the better months for the U.S. stock market.

From MarketWatch

She scoured the room, her tiny claws clacking across the floor—which, contrary to the clacking, looked like undulating water beneath her feet.

From Literature

On the contrary, women came to the pastors’ defense.

From The Wall Street Journal

In her ruling, she said the government's designation of Anthropic as a supply chain risk was "likely both contrary to law and arbitrary and capricious."

From Barron's

Related Words

• adverse
• antithetical
• conflicting
• contradictory
• discordant
• hostile
• inconsistent
• inimical
• negative
• opposed
• paradoxical
• wrongheaded