How to use contradict in a sentence
40 example sentences · verb
Contradict means to deny the truth or validity of (a statement or statements). Example: “His testimony contradicts hers.”
Examples of contradict by meaning
verbTo deny the truth or validity of (a statement or statements).
- His testimony contradicts hers.
- Oh, I don’t mean it contradicted anything he had told us in class; it was just entirely different in tone.1959, Robert A. Heinlein, Starship Troopers, New York: Ace Books, published 2006, page 97
verbTo oppose (a person) by denying the truth or pertinence of a given statement.
- Everything he says contradicts me.
- “I always contradict my husband when he says that,” said Mrs.1915, Virginia Woolf, chapter 15, in The Voyage Out, New York: George H. Doran, published 1920, page 199
verbTo say things that conflict with each other.
- The prime minister contradicted herself during her speech.
More sentences with contradict
- This assertion epitomizes the Copenhagen Interpretation and clearly contradicts the epistemology of prequantal science.2013, M. Bunge, Quantum Theory and Reality. From the entry prequantal
- Kenworthy's thesis does not contradict Frank's emphasis on the family-values propaganda blitz.2010, Thomas S. Langner, Selfish Or Caring? America's Choice, →ISBN. From the entry left-behind
- No organism can behave in a manner that would break or contradict physical and chemical laws.2005, Robert Inkpen, Science, Philosophy and Physical Geography. From the entry physical law
- The sometimes proclaimed view that marijuana is non-addicting is contradicted by observed withdrawal effects.2005, Kenneth W Wanberg with Harvey B Milkman, Criminal Conduct and Substance Abuse Treatment, page 101. From the entry non-addicting
- But this contradicts the previous equation, so n cannot be algebraic.2004, A. K. Dewdney, Beyond reason: eight great problems that reveal the limits of science, John Wiley & Sons Inc, →ISBN. From the entry Weierstrass-Lindemann theorem
- I can see that your intentions are to contradict the fantrolls that come in here spreading misinfo.2002 June 26, xslacks, “Is it just me or.....”, in microsoft.public.xbox (Usenet), retrieved 24 Dec 2021. From the entry fantroll
- How could one "only true end-time apostle" contradict another "only true end-time apostle"?2001, J. Michael Feazell, The Liberation of the Worldwide Church of God, page 113. From the entry unrestore
- Maybe he'll come up and speak to us.” “Oh, as if!” contradicted Laura.1903, Frank Norris, The Pit: A Story of Chicago, Sydney: Angus & Robertson, →OL, page 10. From the entry as if
- Videos analyzed by The New York Times appear to contradict the accounts of federal officials, who said Mr.2026 January 24, en, “Minneapolis Live Updates: Videos Appear to Contradict Federal Account of Killing”, in The New York Times, New York…. From the entry Pretti
- She was not a contentious person as the Other had been; she did not argue and contradict everything I said.2020, Susanna Clarke, Piranesi, Bloomsbury, page 212. From the entry contentious
- “No, the lord is a shepherd,” a flockmate contradicts.2007 June 21, Amy Virshup, “Newly Released”, in New York Times. From the entry flockmate
- What is it that penetrates, that permeates, that contradicts even itself, a life not life, an unevil evil, a familiar romance?2005, Willard Spiegelman, How Poets See the World, page 165. From the entry unevil
- Being well-mannered, nicely reared humans, we would never contradict her.2004 March 13, “Best Irish Blessing Is An Irish Dog”, in Free Lance-Star. From the entry dog-child
- “That was in Casco,” his wife contradicted immediately.1980, Stephen King, The Mist, Viking Press. From the entry veteran
- Coaches are like Merlins madly mixing metals, searching for “the right combination,” even if it contradicts common sense.1978 December 29, Thomas Boswell, “Carr Discovers Mysteries of NBA”, in International Herald Tribune, number 29,827, Paris, published 5…. From the entry merlin
- Insecurity of employment, which is a prerequisite of work discipline, contradicts capital's requirement for unlimited quantities of potentially wageable labour.1978, Suzanne de Brunhoff, The State, Capital and Economic Policy, page 10. From the entry wageable
- The W.H.O.’s announcement contradicts previous studies that have said these sweeteners don’t offer any health benefits but also do not cause harm.2023 May 15, April Rubin, “World Health Organization Warns Against Using Artificial Sweeteners”, in The New York Times, archived from the…. From the entry sweetener
- Rhythmic groups may contradict the mensuration temporarily, but in the examples in this book, they never do so throughout an entire piece.2015, Ruth I. DeFord, Tactus, Mensuration and Rhythm in Renaissance Music, →ISBN, page 470. From the entry mensuration
- Rather, these stories rely upon the perception that disability and achievement contradict each other and that any disabled person who overcomes this contradiction is heroic.2015, Eli Clare, Exile and Pride: Disability, Queerness, and Liberation, page 8. From the entry supercrip
- Which completely contradicted the DNA test Dwight took at the end of last season, and is also just a crappy thing to do to someone.2013 May 10, Michael Tedder, “The Office Recap: Second to Last Dance”, in Vulture. From the entry fanwank
- Needless to say, the academies were anything but traditional, striving valiantly to “scientify” the teachings of classics that often contradicted one another and themselves.2013 October 22, Alan Levinovitz, “Chairman Mao Invented Traditional Chinese Medicine”, in Slate. From the entry scientify
- This faithful advisor or instiller of doubts about the religion states: the religion's goal on earth contradicts the government's goal on earth.2012, Simon A. Wood, Christian Criticisms, Islamic Proofs. From the entry instiller
- The natural sciences were only able to ontologise their statements traditionally because the object of their research – nature – normally did not contradict this.2009, Gotthard Bechmann, The Social Integration of Science, →ISBN, page 109. From the entry ontologise
- The rhetoric of raï, however, does not contradict the rise of Islamism in Algeria, and therefore it acquires the potential to complement religious fundamentalism.2003: Tullia Magrini, Music and Gender: Perspectives from the Mediterranean — chapter 14: “‘And She Sang a New Song’: Gender and Music on…. From the entry raï
- Among the trade goods mentioned are not only luxury items but also food produce, which contradicts the idea of exclusively sumptuary trade.1999, María Rostworowski de Diez Canesco, “Economic Models”, in Harry B. Iceland, transl., History of the Inca Realm, Cambridge…. From the entry sumptuary
- I suppose I am a rubish hayseed in some sense, full of down-home notions that contradict the more sophisticated notions of my colleagues.1992, Donald Barthelme, Kim A. Herzinger, The teachings of Don B.. From the entry rubish
- The argument then proceeds from premisses that express certain of the interlocutor’s other beliefs to a conclusion that contradicts the original moral claim under scrutiny.1991, Thomas c. Brickhouse, Nicholas D. Smith, “Socrates’ Elenctic Mission”, in Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy, volume IX, Oxford…. From the entry elenchus
- It is clear, therefore, that idealism contradicts the most elementary scientific knowledge and is contrary to all progress, whether social or intellectual.1978 [1976], Leszek Kołakowski, translated by P[aul] S[teven] Falla, Main Currents of Marxism, volume II: The Golden Age, Oxford…. From the entry elementary
- The size of his victory . . . contradicted the maxim of latter-day fellow Californian Leo Durocher, who once said positively: "Nice guys finish last."1956 November 19, “National Affairs: Nice Guy Finishes First”, in Time. From the entry nice guys finish last
- In July, both Labour leader Sir Kier Starmer and Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves appeared to contradict the commitment to public ownership - but then subsequently said they had misspoken.2022 October 5, Conrad Landin, “Network News: Labour resolves to put rail "in the hands of the public"”, in RAIL, number 967, page 16. From the entry misspeak
- Clarified that rvalue references to function types produce non-rref lvalues (previously stated in the general wording in 5¶6 but inadvertently contradicted in the detailed wording of 5.2.2, 5.2.9, etc.).2010 March 12, William M. Miller, “A Taxonomy of Expression Value Categories”, in C++ Standards Committee Papers, page 1. From the entry lvalue
- Man, to ram-raider, 'Why have you painted your car green on one side and yellow on the other?' Ram-raider, 'Because I like to hear the witnesses contradict each other.'2010, Mike Haskins, Stephen Arnott, Man Walks Into A Bar: The Ultimate Collection of Jokes and One-Liners, page 64. From the entry ram-raider
- As a low-level experience of cognitive dissonance, how does one maintain faith in an organization when some of the most basic claims are contradicted by evidence and ordinary experience?2009, “Researching Scientology: Perceptions, Premises, Promises, and Problematics, by Douglas E. Cowan”, in James R. Lewis, editor…. From the entry cognitive dissonance
- It is true that this view contradicts that of Raoul-Rouchette, who remains faithful to his marotte, which admits only paintings on wood, because they are called tabulae.2004, Gottfried Semper, translated by Harry Francis Malgrave, Style in the technical and tectonic arts, or, Practical aesthetics, Los…. From the entry marotte
- Hamshaw Thomas had already argued in print that fossils of flowering plants contradicted, or at best failed to confirm, the supposedly evolutionary arrangement of the higher plant taxa.1979, Stazione Zoologica di Napoli, History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences, Volume 17, page 234. From the entry pseudotaxonomy
Meaning of contradict
- verb To deny the truth or validity of (a statement or statements).
- verb To oppose (a person) by denying the truth or pertinence of a given statement.
- verb To be contrary to (something).
Questions about contradict in a sentence
- How do you use contradict in a sentence?
- Contradict is used as a verb. For example: “His testimony contradicts hers.”
- What is a short sentence with contradict?
- “His testimony contradicts hers.”
- What does contradict mean?
- Contradict means to deny the truth or validity of (a statement or statements).
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: contradict (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this page: “How to use contradict in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/contradict. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
