Word.ws English Dictionary

countersense

countersense noun: an opposite meaning.

Noun

countersense (countable and uncountable, plural countersenses)

  1. An opposite meaning.
    • Moreover, I find there are ſome Words now in French which are turn'd to a counterſenſe, as we uſe the Dutch Word Crank in Engliſh to be well-diſpos'd, which in the Original ſignifieth to be ſick; ſo in French, Cocu is taken for one whoſe Wife is light, and hath made him a paſſive Cuckold; whereas...c. 1645, James Howell, “XIX. To the R.H. the Earl of Clare.”, in Epistolæ Ho-Elianæ. Familiar Letters Domestic and Forren. […], 3rd edition, volume IV, London: […] Humphrey Mos[e]ley, […], published...
    • But in order to gauge the concept of Evil in all its forms we must compare it with the corresponding forms of Good. For the law of relativity applies here as elsewhere, giving us sense and countersense, thesis and antithesis, positive and negative.1895, Herbert Baynes, chapter IV, in The Idea of God and the Moral Sense in the Light of Language, volume II, page 5
  2. A nonsensical idea; a contradiction in terms; something that contradicts an established principle, architectural or musical style, etc.
    • On that line we reach simply the old countersense: "All is Reality" is as meaningless a proposition as "All is Illusion."1905, J. M. Robertson, chapter IV, in Letters on Reasoning, page 225
    • A state theatre, where it exists in a democratic country, is always a legacy from an autocratic past. If it be a worthy and well-managed theatre, to which popular sentiment is habituated, it is no doubt a highly desirable legacy. But for a democracy, and especially an Anglo-Saxon democracy, to set...1899, William Archer, “What Can Be Done for the Drama?”, in The Anglo-Saxon Review, volume IV, page 232

Examples of countersense in a sentence

  • Panurge's comedy is the agony of indecision as he struggles obstinately and vainly to interpret every unfavorable omen in its countersense, to substitute his willful imagining for reality and fate.1968, Francis L. Lawrence, Moliere: The Comedy of Unreason, page 102:
  • But for a democracy, and especially an Anglo-Saxon democracy, to set about creating such a theatre would be, I think, a countersense.1899, William Archer, “What Can Be Done for the Drama?”, in The Anglo-Saxon Review, volume IV, page 232:
  • It would give a serious countersense to sing it with a great cry of joy, and to give it "éclat" under the pretext that "it is Easter".c. 1900, Lura F. Heckenlively, The Fundamentals of Gregorian Chant, page 247:

Forms of countersense

pluralcountersenses

Origin of countersense

From counter- + sense; adaptation of French contresens.

Questions about countersense

What does countersense mean?
Countersense means an opposite meaning.
How do you use countersense in a sentence?
Panurge's comedy is the agony of indecision as he struggles obstinately and vainly to interpret every unfavorable omen in its countersense, to substitute his willful imagining for reality and fate.
What part of speech is countersense?
Countersense is a noun.
What is the plural of countersense?
The plural of countersense is countersenses.

Words near countersense in the dictionary

  1. counterselection
  2. counterselections
  3. counterselective
  4. counterselects
  5. countersemitism
  6. countersense
  7. countersenses
  8. countersful
  9. countershaded
  10. countershading
  11. countershadings

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: countersense (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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