English Dictionary

COUNTERINTUITIVE

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does counterintuitive mean? 

COUNTERINTUITIVE (adjective)
  The adjective COUNTERINTUITIVE has 1 sense:

1. contrary to what common sense would suggestplay

  Familiarity information: COUNTERINTUITIVE used as an adjective is very rare.


 Dictionary entry details 


COUNTERINTUITIVE (adjective)


Sense 1

Meaning:

Contrary to what common sense would suggest

Similar:

unreasonable (not reasonable; not showing good judgment)


 Context examples 


Rainfall warming the air also sounds counterintuitive — people are used to rain cooling the air around them, not warming it.

(NASA Data Suggest Future May Be Rainier Than Expected, NASA)

This was counterintuitive as hydrogen leads to an oxygen-deficient environment while the formation of nitrate requires oxygen.

(Asteroids, Hydrogen Make Great Recipe for Life on Mars, NASA)

As counterintuitive as it seems, in this case, exaggerating an abnormality can be beneficial.

(Self-tuning neurons promote resilience to stress, depression, NIH)

The beauty of the study really lies in the counterintuitive discovery that easy to make does not mean the material will be worse, but can actually be better.

(‘Messy’ production of perovskite material increases solar cell efficiency, University of Cambridge)



 Learn English with... Proverbs 
"To kill two birds with one stone." (English proverb)

"Poor is the man who does not think of the old age." (Albanian proverb)

"A bite from a lion is better the look of envy." (Arabic proverb)

"A crazy father and mother make sensible children." (Corsican proverb)



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