The noun is pronounced /kɒntrɑ:st, -træst/. The verb is pronounced /kəntrɑ:st, -træst/.
( contrasted)
Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.
1.
A contrast is a great difference between two or more things which is clear when you compare them.
...the contrast between town and country...
The two visitors provided a startling contrast in appearance...
Silk was used with wool for contrast.
N-VAR : oft N between pl-n
2.
You say by contrast or in contrast , or in contrast to something, to show that you are mentioning a very different situation from the one you have just mentioned.
The private sector, by contrast, has plenty of money to spend...
In contrast, the lives of girls in well-to-do families were often very sheltered...
In contrast to similar services in France and Germany, Intercity rolling stock is very rarely idle.
PHRASE : PHR with cl
3.
If one thing is in contrast to another, it is very different from it.
His public statements have always been in marked contrast to those of his son...
PHRASE : v-link PHR , usu PHR to n
4.
If one thing is a contrast to another, it is very different from it.
The boy’s room is a complete contrast to the guest room.
...a country of great contrasts.
N-COUNT : oft N to/with n
5.
If you contrast one thing with another, you point out or consider the differences between those things.
She contrasted the situation then with the present crisis...
In this section we contrast four possible broad approaches.
VERB : V n with n , V pl-n
6.
If one thing contrasts with another, it is very different from it.
Johnson’s easy charm contrasted sharply with the prickliness of his boss...
Paint the wall in a contrasting colour.
V-RECIP : V with n , V-ing , also pl-n V
7.
Contrast is the degree of difference between the darker and lighter parts of a photograph, television picture, or painting.
N-UNCOUNT