Word.ws English Dictionary

contrary

UK/ˈkɒntɹəɹi//ˈkɑntɹɛɹi/

contrary adjective: opposite; in an opposite direction; in opposition; adverse.

Adjective

contrary (comparative more contrary, superlative most contrary)

  1. Opposite; in an opposite direction; in opposition; adverse.
    • contrary winds
    • And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me[…]1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Leviticus 26:21
  2. Opposed; contradictory; inconsistent.
    • Galileo [Galilei]'s zeal for his opinions soon led him again to bring the question under the notice of the Pope, and the result was a declaration of the Inquisition that the doctrine of the earth's motion appeared to be contrary to the sacred scripture.1847, William Whewell, “Sequel to Copernicus—The Reception and Development of the Copernican Theory”, in History of the Inductive Sciences, from the Earliest to the Present Times. […], new edition...
  3. Given to opposition; perverse; wayward.
    • a contrary disposition; a contrary child

Adverb

contrary (comparative more contrary, superlative most contrary)

  1. Contrarily
    • I never act contrary to my principles.

Noun

contrary (plural contraries)

  1. The opposite.
    • No contraries hold more antipathy
      Than I and such a knave.c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
  2. One of a pair of propositions that cannot both be simultaneously true, though they may both be false.
    • 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.1725, Isaac Watts, Logick: Or, The Right Use of Reason in the Enquiry after Truth, […], 2nd edition, London: […] John Clark and Richard Hett, […], Emanuel Matthews, […], and Richard Ford, […]...
  3. (historical) A type of loaded die.

Verb

contrary (third-person singular simple present contraries, present participle contrarying, simple past and past participle contraried)

  1. (obsolete) To oppose; to frustrate.
    • You that be of the court, & eſpecially ye ſworn chaplains beware of a leſſon that a great man taught me at my firſt coming to the court he told me for a good will, he thoughte it wel. He ſayd vnto me. You muſt beware how ſo euer ye do that ye cõtrary not the king, let him haue his ſaiyngs, folow...1549 April 29 (Gregorian calendar), Hughe Latymer [i.e., Hugh Latimer], Augustine Bernher, compiler, “[27 Sermons Preached by the Ryght Reuerende Father in God and Constant Matir of Iesus Christe...
    • The Athenians having left the enemie in their owne land, for to pass into Sicilie, had very ill successe, and were much contraried by fortune[…].1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 47, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book I, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC
  2. (obsolete) To impugn.
  3. (obsolete) To contradict (someone or something).
    • thus wilfully sir Palomydes dyd bataille with yow
      & as for hym sir I was not gretely aferd but I dred fore laūcelot that knew yow not
      Madame said Palomydes ye maye saye what so ye wyll
      I maye not contrary yow but by my knyghthode I knewe not sir Tristram1485, Sir Thomas Malory, chapter LXXVII, in Le Morte Darthur, book X
    • I finde them everie one in his turne to have reason, although they contrary one another.1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 12, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC
  4. (obsolete) To do the opposite of (someone or something).
  5. (obsolete) To act inconsistently or perversely; to act in opposition to.
  6. (obsolete) To argue; to debate; to uphold an opposite opinion.
  7. (obsolete) To be self-contradictory; to become reversed.

contrary meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

contrary in Hindi

contrary
प्रतिकूल pratikūl
contrary, opposite
विरुद्ध viruddh

contrary in Tamil

எதிர் நிலையான, எதிர்நிலை, எதிர்நிலையான, மாறுபாடான, முரண் பாடான, முரண்பாடான

contrary in Marathi

contrary, opposite, adverse
विरुद्ध viruddha

contrary in Urdu

contrary; opposite
ضد zid
contrary, opposite
مخالف muxālif
More languagesFewer languages
contrary in Bengali
সম্পূর্ণ বিপরীত কিছু, বিপরীত, একগুঁয়ে, অসঙ্গত
contrary in Telugu
ప్రతికూలము pratikūlamu, అపసవ్యము apasavyamu, విపరీత viparīta
contrary in Malayalam
എതിരായ, അനുകൂലമല്ലാത്ത, വിപരീതമായ, വിരുദ്ധമായ
contrary in Kannada
ಮಾರು māru
contrary in Gujarati
વિરુદ્ધ viruddh, અવળું avaḷũ
contrary in Persian
مخالف moxâlef, جدکاره jodkâre

Examples of contrary in a sentence

  • Despite arguments to the contrary, she remained rigid in her stand.
  • Contrary to recent reports of her death, I can confirm that she is very much alive.
  • Contrary to what you might think, Antarctica is technically a desert.

All 40 example sentences with contrary

Synonyms of contrary

2 more synonymsFewer synonyms

Antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of contrary

Forms of contrary

Adjective
comparativemore contrary
superlativemost contrary
Adverb
comparativemore contrary
superlativemost contrary
Noun
pluralcontraries
Verb
third-person singular presentcontraries
present participlecontrarying
past participlecontraried
pastcontraried

Origin of contrary

From Middle English contrarie, compare French contraire, from Old French contraire, from Latin contrārius (“opposite, opposed, contrary”), from contrā (“against”).

Words formed from contrary

Phrases with contrary

Questions about contrary

What does contrary mean?
Contrary means opposite; in an opposite direction; in opposition; adverse.
What is contrary in Hindi?
Contrary in Hindi is प्रतिकूल (pratikūl), विरुद्ध (viruddh). See Contrary meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is contrary?
Contrary can be an adjective, an adverb, a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce contrary?
Contrary is pronounced /ˈkɒntɹəɹi/ (UK).

Words near contrary in the dictionary

  1. contrarity
  2. contrariways
  3. contrariwise
  4. contrarotating
  5. contrarotation
  6. contrary
  7. contrary to
  8. contrary to all expectations
  9. contrary to popular belief
  10. contrarying
  11. contrarywise

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: contrary (page history and authors); प्रतिकूल (Hindi) (page history and authors); contrary (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); विरुद्ध (Marathi) (page history and authors); ضد (Urdu) (page history and authors); contrary (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); అపసవ్యము (Telugu) (page history and authors); contrary (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); અવળું (Gujarati) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-contrary.ogg.

Cite this entry: “contrary.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/contrary. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.