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contraries - 3 dictionary results
con⋅trar⋅y
[kon-trer-ee; for 5 also kuh
n-trair-ee] 
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
—Idioms| 9. | in opposition; oppositely; counter: to act contrary to one's own principles. |
| 10. | by contraries, contrary to expectation. |
| 11. | on the contrary,
|
| 12. | to the contrary,
|
Related forms:
con⋅trar⋅i⋅ly [kon-trer-uh-lee, kuhn-trair-] , adverb
[kon-trer-uh-lee, kuhn-trair-] , 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.
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.
4. favorable. 5. obliging, complaisant.
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.
Cite This Source
|
Link To contraries
| con·trar·y (kŏn'trěr'ē) adj.
[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. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
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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