CONTRARY

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does contrary mean? 

• CONTRARY (noun)
  The noun CONTRARY has 3 senses:

1. a relation of direct opposition

2. exact opposition

3. a logical relation such that two propositions are contraries if both cannot be true but both can be false

  Familiarity information: CONTRARY used as a noun is uncommon.

• CONTRARY (adjective)
  The adjective CONTRARY has 4 senses:

1. very opposed in nature or character or purpose

2. of words or propositions so related that both cannot be true but both may be false

3. resistant to guidance or discipline

4. in an opposing direction

  Familiarity information: CONTRARY used as an adjective is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CONTRARY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A relation of direct opposition

Classified under:

Nouns denoting relations between people or things or ideas

Synonyms:

contrary; opposite; reverse

Context example:

we thought Sue was older than Bill but just the reverse was true

Hypernyms ("contrary" is a kind of...):

oppositeness; opposition (the relation between opposed entities)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Exact opposition

Classified under:

Nouns denoting relations between people or things or ideas

Context example:

public opinion to the contrary he is not guilty

Hypernyms ("contrary" is a kind of...):

oppositeness; opposition (the relation between opposed entities)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A logical relation such that two propositions are contraries if both cannot be true but both can be false

Classified under:

Nouns denoting relations between people or things or ideas

Hypernyms ("contrary" is a kind of...):

logical relation (a relation between propositions)

• CONTRARY (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Very opposed in nature or character or purpose

Context example:

the facts point to a contrary conclusion

Similar:

different (unlike in nature or quality or form or degree)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Of words or propositions so related that both cannot be true but both may be false

Context example:

'hot' and 'cold' are contrary terms

Similar:

antonymous (of words: having opposite meanings)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Resistant to guidance or discipline

Synonyms:

contrary; obstinate; perverse; wayward

Context example:

wayward behavior

Similar:

disobedient (not obeying or complying with commands of those in authority)

Derivation:

contrariness (deliberate and stubborn unruliness and resistance to guidance or discipline)

Sense 4

Meaning:

In an opposing direction

Synonyms:

adverse; contrary

Context example:

a contrary wind

Similar:

unfavorable; unfavourable ((of winds or weather) tending to hinder or oppose)

 Context examples 

On the contrary, a large majority of the boys (especially the smaller ones) were visited with similar instances of notice, as Mr. Creakle made the round of the schoolroom.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

The man’s as contrary as air currents or water currents.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

The adventure of the night does not seem to have harmed her; on the contrary, it has benefited her, for she looks better this morning than she has done for weeks.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

I mean, on the contrary, to be busy.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

There was no sneer upon his thin lips, but, on the contrary, a gray, drawn look of excitement and amazement.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

"You impertinent boy! Of course I'm not," exclaimed Sallie, with an air that proved the contrary.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

On the contrary, she grew more excited and angry every moment, until, in the end, White Fang flung dignity to the winds and frankly fled away from her across the fields.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

Contrary to recent reports, NASA's Cassini spacecraft is not experiencing unexplained deviations in its orbit around Saturn, according to mission managers and orbit determination experts at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

(Saturn Spacecraft Not Affected by Hypothetical Planet 9, NASA)

Instead, they observed that the giant planet's atmosphere is cooler at higher altitudes, which is contrary to what was expected.

(Hubble Observes Exoplanet that Snows Sunscreen, NASA)

“We set out to explore whether this therapy helps very premature infants, but we found that it may be ineffective, which was contrary to what we expected.”

(Diuretic therapy for extremely preterm infants does not alleviate respiratory problems, National Institutes of Health)