Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use contrary in a sentence

40 example sentences · adjective, adverb, noun

Contrary means opposite; in an opposite direction; in opposition; adverse. Example: “I never act contrary to my principles.”

Examples of contrary by meaning

adjectiveGiven to opposition; perverse; wayward.

  • a contrary disposition; a contrary child

adverbContrarily.

  • I never act contrary to my principles.

More sentences with contrary

  • Despite arguments to the contrary, she remained rigid in her stand.From the entry rigid
  • Contrary to recent reports of her death, I can confirm that she is very much alive.From the entry very much
  • Contrary to what you might think, Antarctica is technically a desert.From the entry contrary to
  • Contrary to popular belief, Columbus was not actually the first person to discover America.From the entry contrary to popular belief
  • I think she is pretty, contrary to most people.From the entry think
  • Despite contrary admonitions, they held to their fundamentalist Christian views.From the entry hold to
  • Due to modern technology, many more people and much more information will not slip into oblivion, contrary to what happened throughout history until now.From the entry oblivion
  • I heard nothing to the contrary.From the entry to the contrary
  • Jack has confirmed that, contrary to the rumors that he and Jill are dating and are planning to marry, he and Jill are just friends.From the entry just friends
  • Contrary to popular assumptions, this does not mean that everything is perfect and characters are completely unrealistic.2026 March 19, Kate Montgomery, “(Im)politeness in Neuromixed Interactions: An investigation of three autistic romance novels”, in SSRN…. From the entry neuromixed
  • George Harrison's voice announced that contrary to appearances, it was all right.2023 August 2, HarryBlank, “Act Your Age”, in SCP Foundation, archived from the original on 27 Dec 2024. From the entry gavotte
  • Contrary to what girl math might suggest, women aren't the only ones dishing out big bucks.2023 August 19, Paige Hagy, “'Girl math,' the TikTok trend where young women justify their spending, isn't a lifestyle or a delusion—it's…. From the entry girl math
  • But anger on the contrary is much more fanned by what angry persons do.2021, Plutarch's Morals. From the entry fanned
  • What strikes me on rereading those great philippics is, on the contrary, their exactness and perceptiveness.2017 September 7, Ferdinand Mount, “Umbrageousness”, in London Review of Books. From the entry philippic
  • On the contrary -- it's so common that we regard it as business as usual.2017, Kate Manne, Down Girl: The Logic of Misogyny, →ISBN, page 196. From the entry himpathy
  • On the contrary, the process manifests resounding cultural success through its longevity.2015, Kim Timby, 3D and Animated Lenticular Photography: Between Utopia and Entertainment, Walter de Gruyter, →ISBN, page 248. From the entry lenticular
  • On the contrary: I am an episodic rather than a narrativist writer.2015 October 13, Jonathan Buckley, “Jonathan Buckley: 'My novel is a mirrored room'”, in The Guardian. From the entry narrativist
  • On the contrary, the difference between the worse male and female sportsmen was 54 ms.2014, Libor Flemr, Jiří Němec, Kateřina Kudláčková, editors, Physical activity in science and practice: Conference Proceedings | In…. From the entry sportsman
  • The contrary way is widdershins, the way in which the witches danced at the Sabbats.2011, Dion Fortune, Psychic Self-Defense: The Classic Instruction Manual for Protecting Yourself Against Paranormal Attack, Weiser Books…. From the entry widdershins
  • To assert the contrary is akin to seeking disconnection from the human race itself.2011, Will Gragido, John Pirc, Cybercrime and Espionage: An Analysis of Subversive Multi-Vector Threats. From the entry in too deep
  • Contrary to what most people think, Prosecco is not commonly sweet.2010 July 28, Derek Brown, “The Bellini: A Two-Ingredient Marvel”, in The Atlantic. From the entry prosecco
  • On the contrary, the cyberpioneers of the moment are digitally effusive teenage girls.2008 February 21, Stephanie Rosenbloom, “Sorry, Boys, This Is Our Domain”, in New York Times. From the entry cyberpioneer
  • Contrary to popular misconception, MacArthur Park is not the worst song ever written.2007 August 23, Joe Queenan, The Guardian. From the entry popular
  • On the contrary, instead of wholeheartedly defending Chase, Marshall fell over himself to accommodate his accusers.2007, Jeffrey Rosen, The Supreme Court: The personalities and rivalries that defined America, →ISBN, page 53. From the entry fall over oneself
  • On the contrary; I don't want to see Debian get Napstered.2005 May 21, Michael K. Edwards, “Bug#310994: ITP: openttd -- open source clone of the Microprose game "Transport Tycoon Deluxe"”, in…. From the entry Napster
  • To the contrary, it suggests that it is what the American Dialect Society considers WotY.2005 January 16, Martin Ambuhl, “flip-flopper at the ADS”, in alt.usage.english (Usenet), archived from the original on 05 Dec 2025. From the entry WOTY
  • Here the risk of consecutives has been minimised by using mainly contrary motion in the bass.2004, Hugh Benham, A Student's Guide to Harmony and Counterpoint, →ISBN, page 86. From the entry consecutive
  • For example, sleeping and waking are contraries, and snoring is associated with sleepers.2004, Boethius, translated by Eleonore Stump, In Ciceronis Topica. From the entry incompatible
  • Contrary to popular belief, sushi doesn't have to be served over a bar.2003 12, Let's Go Inc., Let's Go Japan 1st Ed, Macmillan, →ISBN, page 151. From the entry authentically
  • To the contrary, law is at the heart of Foucault's project.2001, Bernard E. Harcourt, chapter 5, in Illusion of Order. From the entry untheorized
  • And I don't think this view is contrary to my professed "Wiccanness" at all.2000 March 24, deò, “Re: Re:Regression”, in alt.religion.wicca.moderated (Usenet), message-ID…. From the entry Wiccanness
  • On the contrary: its approach was so sober as to recall the days of dress-suited newsreaders.2000 July 21, James Walton, “Fibs and whoppers galore”, in The Daily Telegraph, number 45,131, page 46. From the entry dress-suited
  • Contrary to Strauss, however, Schleiermacher was not a thoroughgoing Christocentrist in his defense of this doctrine.1997, Gary Dorrien, “Theology Beyond Myth: Liberal Christianity”, in The Word as True Myth: Interpreting Modern Theology, Louisville…. From the entry christocentrist
  • The roots of authority, on the contrary, always had a metaphysical character.1995, Julius Evola, “Regality”, in Guido Stucco, transl., Revolt against the Modern World, Rochester, Vermont: Inner Traditions…. From the entry metaphysical
  • He is the opposite of these things; is ceaselessly, peacelessly contrary.1994, Nicola Barker, chapter 5, in Reversed Forecast, London: Fourth Estate, published 2011, →ISBN, page 23. From the entry peacelessly
  • Artful play is where you find and live it, like the bird against the contrary winds.1993 winter, Kingsley Widmer, “Anarchist Aesthetics: A Few Notes Towards a Libertarian View of the Arts”, in Anarchy: A Journal of Desire…. From the entry counteringly
  • On the contrary, quartz greisens of the main stage are tin-poor.1989, Zentralinstitut für Physik der Erde, “Veröffentlichungen des Zentralinstituts für Physik der Erde, Volume 107”, in…. From the entry tropomorphic
  • On the contrary, as we shall see, they were merely rationalized and reinforced by the Salazarist system.1985, John S. Saul, chapter I, in John S. Saul, editor, A Difficult Road: The Transition to Socialism in Mozambique, New York: Monthly…. From the entry Salazarist

Meaning of contrary

  1. adjective Opposite; in an opposite direction; in opposition; adverse.
  2. adjective Opposed; contradictory; inconsistent.
  3. adjective Given to opposition; perverse; wayward.

Full definition of contrary

Questions about contrary in a sentence

How do you use contrary in a sentence?
Contrary is used as an adjective, adverb and noun. For example: “I never act contrary to my principles.”
What is a short sentence with contrary?
“I heard nothing to the contrary.”
What does contrary mean?
Contrary means opposite; in an opposite direction; in opposition; adverse.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: contrary (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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