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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
con·trar·y    Audio Help   [kon-trer-ee; for 5 also kuhn-trair-ee] Pronunciation Key adjective, noun, plural -trar·ies, adverb
–adjective
1.opposite in nature or character; diametrically or mutually opposed: contrary to fact; contrary propositions.
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.
5.perverse; stubbornly opposed or willful.
–noun
6.something that is contrary or opposite: to prove the contrary of a statement.
7.either of two contrary things.
8.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
9.in opposition; oppositely; counter: to act contrary to one's own principles.
—Idioms
10.by contraries, contrary to expectation.
11.on the contrary,
a.in opposition to what has been stated.
b.from another point of view: On the contrary, there may be some who would agree with you.
12.to the contrary,
a.to the opposite effect: I believe he is innocent, whatever they may say to the contrary.
b.to a different effect.
[Origin: 1200–50; ME contrarie < AF < L contrārius. See contra-1, -ary]

—Related forms
con·trar·i·ly    Audio Help   [kon-trer-uh-lee, kuhn-trair-] Pronunciation Key, adverb
con·trar·i·ness, noun

—Synonyms 1. contradictory, conflicting, counter. See opposite. 4. unfriendly, hostile. 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. 5. intractable, obstinate, headstrong, stubborn, pig-headed.
—Antonyms 4. favorable. 5. obliging, complaisant.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Contraries

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
con·trar·y    Audio Help   (kŏn'trěr'ē)  Pronunciation Key 
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. con·trar·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.


[Middle English contrarie, from Anglo-Norman, from Latin contrārius : contrā, against; see kom in Indo-European roots + -ārius, -ary.]

con'trar'i·ly (kŏn'trěr-ə-lē, kŏn-trâr'-) adv., con'trar'i·ness n.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Contraries

Con"tra*ries\ (? or ?; 48), n. pl. [Pl. of Contrary, n.] (Logic) Propositions which directly and destructively contradict each other, but of which the falsehood of one does not establish the truth of the other.

If two universals differ in quality, they are contraries; as, every vine is a tree; no vine is a tree. These can never be both true together; but they may be both false. --I. Watts.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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