contrary

(kŏn'trĕr'ē)
adj.

1. Opposed, as in character or purpose: contrary opinions; acts that are contrary to our code of ethics.
2. Opposite in direction or position: Our boat took a course contrary to theirs. See synonyms at opposite.
3. Music. Moving in the opposite direction at a fixed interval: playing scales in contrary motion.
4. Adverse; unfavorable: a contrary wind.
5. (also kən-trâr'ē) Given to recalcitrant behavior; willful or perverse.

n., pl., -ies.

1. Something that is opposite or contrary.
2. Either of two opposing or contrary things: "Truth is perhaps . . . a dynamic compound of opposites, savage contraries for a moment conjoined" (A. Bartlett Giamatti).
3. Logic. A proposition related to another in such a way that if the latter is true, the former must be false, but if the latter is false, the former is not necessarily true.

adv.
In an opposite direction or manner; counter: The judge ruled contrary to all precedent in the case.

idioms:

by contraries Obsolete.

1. In opposition to what is expected.

on the contrary

1. In opposition to what has been stated or what is expected: I'm not sick; on the contrary, I'm in the peak of health.

to the contrary

1. To the opposite effect from what has been stated or what is expected: Despite what you say to the contary, this contract is fair.

[Middle English contrarie, from Anglo-Norman, from Latin contrārius : contrā, against + -ārius, -ary.]

contrarily con'trar'i·ly (kŏn'trĕr-ə-lē, kŏn-trâr'-) adv.
contrariness con'trar'i·ness n.

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1. The position of the main stress has fluctuated over the centuries, and the Old English (up to 1150)D notes that poets from Chaucer to Spenser and Shakespeare placed it on both the first and the second syllable according to need. In current English, the stress is now placed on the first syllable for the adjective and the noun, except in the meaning 'perverse, obstinately self-willed', in which the stress is on the second syllable, probably under the influence of the nursery rhyme beginning Mary, Mary, quite contrary.

2. The phrase on the contrary is properly used only in a statement intensifying a denial of what has just been stated or implied:

Experience in beekeeping is not necessary—on the contrary a beginner's input can be extremely useful—Gloucester Citizen, 1999.

On the other hand denotes a differing (not necessarily opposite) point of view, and is often paired with on the one hand.

3. The phrase to the contrary is used in American English in the meaning of on the contrary (see 2), but in British English is used only as a mid-sentence or end-of-sentence adverbial as in There is plenty of evidence to the contrary.

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adjective

1. Diametrically opposed: antipodal, antipodean, antithetical, antonymic, antonymous, contradictory, converse, counter, diametric, diametrical, opposing, opposite, polar, reverse. See support/oppose.
2. Given to acting in opposition to others: balky, contrarious, difficult, froward, impossible, ornery, perverse, wayward. See attitude/good attitude/bad attitude/neutral attitude, support/oppose.

noun

That which is diametrically opposed to another: antipode, antipodes, antithesis, antonym, converse, counter, opposite, reverse. Logic contradictory, contrapositive. See support/oppose.

adj

Definition: antagonistic; opposite
Antonyms: accommodating, agreeing, alike, concordant, correspondent, harmonious, homogeneous, like, obliging, similar

Two propositions are contrary if only one of them can be true, but they may both be false. ‘He is in his forties’ and ‘he is in his fifties’ are contraries, since he cannot be both, but he might be a different age again, in which case both are false. See square of opposition.

For a list of words related to contrary, see:

• Demanding, Critical, Calculating, or Selfish

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See words rhyming with "contrary."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Contrarily.

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Dansk (Danish)
adj. - modsat, kontrær, modgående, gensidigt udelukkende
n. - modsætning
adv. - i strid med, stik imod

idioms:

• on the contrary    tværtimod, derimod
• to the contrary    der siger/beviser det modsatte

Nederlands (Dutch)
tegendeel, tegendraads, ongunstig, tegenovergesteld

Français (French)
adj. - contraire, contraire à, contrariant (personne)
n. - contraire, contrordre
adv. - contrairement, contre

idioms:

• contrary to    contrairement à, être contraire à
• on the contrary    au contraire
• to the contrary    au contraire, contrairement à

Deutsch (German)
n. - Gegenteil
adj. - entgegengesetzt, gegensätzlich, widerborstig
adv. - im Gegensatz, wider

idioms:

• contrary to    entgegen einer Sache, im Gegenteil zu
• on the contrary    im Gegenteil
• to the contrary    im Gegenteil

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - αντίθετο
adj. - αντίθετος, αντίξοος, δυσμενής, πεισματάρικος
adv. - αντίθετα

idioms:

• on the contrary    αντιθέτως, τουναντίον
• to the contrary    περί του αντιθέτου/εναντίου

Italiano (Italian)
contrario

idioms:

• on the contrary    al contrario
• quite the contrary    proprio il contrario
• to the contrary    in contrario

Português (Portuguese)
n. - contrário (m)
adj. - oposto
adv. - contrariamente

idioms:

• on the contrary    pelo contrário
• quite the contrary    totalmente o contrário
• to the contrary    em contrário

Русский (Russian)
противоположность, противоположный, обратный

idioms:

• on the contrary    напротив
• quite the contrary    наоборот
• to the contrary    обратное, противное

Español (Spanish)
adj. - contrario, opuesto
n. - contrario, opuesto
adv. - que siempre está llevando la contraria, contrariamente, en contra de

idioms:

• contrary to    contrariamente a
• on the contrary    al contrario, por el contrario
• to the contrary    al contrario, por el contrario

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - motsats
adj. - motsatt, stridande, motig, ogynnsam, motsträvig (vard.)
adv. - i motsats till, i motsatt riktning

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
相反的, 对立的, 矛盾的, 相反, 对立面, 相反地

idioms:

• on the contrary    正相反
• to the contrary    相反地

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 相反的, 對立的, 矛盾的
n. - 相反, 對立面
adv. - 相反地

idioms:

• on the contrary    正相反
• to the contrary    相反地

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 반대의, 적합치 않은, 고집 센
n. - 정 반대, 반대 명제
adv. - 반대로

idioms:

• to the contrary    ~그와 반대로, ~임에도 불구하고

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 反対の, 反する, 逆の, 直角の, つむじまがりの, わがままな
n. - 正反対, 相反するもの, 反対
adv. - 反対に

idioms:

• on the contrary    それどころか, これに反して
• to the contrary    それと反対に

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) الضد, العكس (صفه) مضاد, معاكس, مخالف, عنيد (ظرف) عكسي‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮מנוגד, נגדי, סרבן, עקשן‬
n. - ‮ניגוד, היפך, סרבן, עקשן‬
adv. - ‮מנוגד, נגדי‬

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