con ‧ tra ‧ dict AC /ˌkɒntrəˈdɪkt $ ˌkɑːn-/ BrE AmE verb
[ Word Family: verb : ↑ contradict ; noun : ↑ contradiction ; adjective : ↑ contradictory ]
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: past participle of contradicere , from contra- ( ⇨ ↑ contra- ) + dicere 'to say' ]
1 . [intransitive and transitive] to disagree with something, especially by saying that the opposite is true:
Deborah opened her mouth to contradict, but closed it again.
Dad just can’t bear to be contradicted.
The article flatly contradicts their claims.
2 . [transitive] if one statement, story etc contradicts another, the facts in it are different so that both statements cannot be true:
The witness statements contradict each other and the facts remain unclear.
3 . contradict yourself to say something that is the opposite of what you said before:
Within five minutes he had contradicted himself twice.