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contradiction - 4 dictionary results
con⋅tra⋅dic⋅tion
[kon-truh-dik-shuh
n]
–noun
| 1. | the act of contradicting; gainsaying or opposition. |
| 2. | assertion of the contrary or opposite; denial. |
| 3. | a statement or proposition that contradicts or denies another or itself and is logically incongruous. |
| 4. | direct opposition between things compared; inconsistency. |
| 5. | a contradictory act, fact, etc. |
Origin:
1350–1400; ME contradiccioun (< AF) < L contrādictiōn- (s. of contrādictiō). See contradict, -ion
1350–1400; ME contradiccioun (< AF) < L contrādictiōn- (s. of contrādictiō). See contradict, -ion

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To contradiction
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Contradiction
Con`tra*dic"tion\, n. [L. contradictio answer, objection: cf. F. contradiction.]1. An assertion of the contrary to what has been said or affirmed; denial of the truth of a statement or assertion; contrary declaration; gainsaying. His fair demands Shall be accomplished without contradiction. --Shak. 2. Direct opposition or repugnancy; inconsistency; incongruity or contrariety; one who, or that which, is inconsistent. can be make deathless death? That were to make Strange contradiction. --Milton. We state our experience and then we come to a manly resolution of acting in contradiction to it. --Burke. Both parts of a contradiction can not possibly be true. --Hobbes. Of contradictions infinite the slave. --Wordsworth. Principle of contradiction (Logic), the axiom or law of thought that a thing cannot be and not be at the same time, or a thing must either be or not be, or the same attribute can not at the same time be affirmed and and denied of the same subject. Note: It develops itself in three specific forms which have been called the "Three Logical Axioms." First, "A is A." Second, "A is not Not-A" Third, "Everything is either A or Not-A."
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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contradiction
c.1382, from L. contradictionem, from contradicere "speak against," from contra "against" + dicere "to speak" (see diction). Contradict first attested 1570s, "speak against;" sense of "assert the contrary" is from 1582.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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