I. ˈkän.ˌtrer]ē, Brit usually & US sometimes -trər]ē; sometimes ˈkän.tr]ē or kən.ˈtrer]ē; ]i noun
( -es )
Etymology: Middle English contrarie, modification (influenced by Latin contrarius ) of Old French contraire, from contraire, adjective
1. : the opposite : a proposition, fact, or condition incompatible with another
2. : one of a pair of opposites (as objects, facts, qualities)
thinking well of oneself … is the exact contrary of self-importance — F.A.Swinnerton
pleasure and pain, wetness and dryness are contraries
3. logic
a. : a proposition so related to another that though both may be false they cannot both be true : a universal proposition affirming what another universal proposition denies or denying what another affirms (as “every vine is a tree” and “no vine is a tree”) — distinguished from converse ; compare opposition , subcontrary
b. contrar·ies plural : contrary terms
4. contrar·ies plural , Britain : foreign matter (as buttons and pins in rags or wax and bitumen in waste papers) that is removed in papermaking before pulping
•
- by contraries
- on the contrary
- to the contrary
II. “, but kən.ˈtrer]ē or ]i is as frequent as any other pronunc for sense 4 adjective
Etymology: Middle English contrarie, modification (influenced by Latin contrarius contrary) of Middle French contraire, from Latin contrarius, from contra against + -arius -ary — more at contra-
1.
a. : diametrically different : opposed
a move contrary to government policy
facts which point to a contrary conclusion
b. : opposite in character or nature
firm in the contrary intention
: tending to an opposite or opposing course especially of thought or development
confirmatory or contrary evidence
c. : mutually opposed : antagonistic
holding contrary opinions
2. : that is the other or opposite
belonging to the contrary sex
: opposite in position or direction : on the other side : in the other way
moving the contrary way
3. : opposed to one's interests or desires : unfavorable , prejudicial
contrary to the work which ye intend — Edmund Spenser
— now used only of wind or weather
prevented by contrary winds from reaching port
4.
a. : disposed temperamentally to oppose, contemn, or disregard the wishes or suggestions of others : obstinately self-willed in refusing to concur
they've been in your way all these years and you've always complained of them, so don't be contrary — Willa Cather
b. : expressive of or characteristic of such a temperament : perverse
a contrary word
contrary act
Synonyms:
perverse , restive , balky , froward , wayward , cantankerous , cross-grained , ornery : contrary indicates a self-willed opposition to others' wishes, suggestions, and advice
a very contrary child
if you was to take it into your head … to marry a man like that … you wouldn't hear a single contrary word out of me or your ma — Erskine Caldwell
perverse , sometimes a stronger word, may imply wrongheaded, determined, or cranky opposition to the right, correct, established, or normal
a malicious and perverse refusal to be convinced by the “greatest and highest evidences” which God has condescended to give to men — Leslie Stephen
Rimbaud was the rebel incarnate … he was perverse, untractable, adamant until the very last hour — Henry Miller
usually the most affectionate and docile of wives, Maimiti was now in one of the perverse humors which accompany her condition — C.B.Nordhoff & J.N.Hall
restive may imply an obstinate disinclination to follow orders or act in accordance with established custom
the common man … is increasingly restive under the state of “things as they are” — Thorstein Veblen
Increasingly in today's English it suggests a disinclination arising from restlessness or impatience
the freemen of the Massachusetts towns were restive under the strict rule of the magistrates — V.L.Parrington
balky , often applied to animals, connotes a tendency to refuse to follow certain orders or to act or function as expected
examination of witnesses mostly reluctant if not downright balky — Nation
froward implies habitual disobedience and refusal to comply with requests
Russell had always been froward, arrogant, and mutinous — T.B.Macaulay
froward beyond control, the insurgent young physician refused to submit the validity of his opinions to the decision of the clergy — John Bennett
wayward suggests extreme self-will and preference for one's own way and often implies an almost ungovernable wantonness
one of the brightest intellects of the university, but he is wayward, dissipated, and unprincipled. He was nearly expelled over a card scandal in his first year — A. Conan Doyle
conceived … by a wayward mulatto girl in a tryst — Worth T. Hedden
cantankerous suggests truculent irritability
Giddy felt cantankerous and wanted to get a rise out of Kennedy — Willa Cather
a group of people … who are, almost by definition, cantankerous, jealous, and uncooperative — James Laughlin
cross-grained stresses irascibility and perhaps moroseness
cross-grained as a hickory knot, he even resented persuasion from Emerson to convictions he already held — Isabel Paterson
ornery suggests crusty disagreeableness
you might find that bear and try to throw him, if you feel so ornery — Hervey Allen
he's ornery, hardheaded, the damnedest … hotheaded man you ever saw — M.W.Straus
Synonym: see in addition opposite .
III. like contrary II transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-es )
Etymology: Middle English contrarien, from Middle French contrarier, from Late Latin contrariare — more at contrariant
now dialect : to act contrary to : oppose , contradict
try to do as they tell you and don't contrary them — H.L.Davis
IV. like contrary II\ adverb
Etymology: Middle English contrarie, from contrarie, adjective
: in a contrary way or manner : contrarily , contrariwise , counter