1. Word finder
  2. Word definitions
  3. on the contrary

Find the word definition

What is "on the contrary"

The Collaborative International Dictionary
On the contrary

Contrary \Con"tra*ry\, n.; pl. Contraries.

  1. A thing that is of contrary or opposite qualities.

    No contraries hold more antipathy Than I and such a knave.
    --Shak.

  2. An opponent; an enemy. [Obs.]
    --Chaucer.

  3. the opposite; a proposition, fact, or condition incompatible with another; as, slender proofs which rather show the contrary. See Converse, n., 1.
    --Locke.

  4. (Logic) See Contraries.

    On the contrary, in opposition; on the other hand.
    --Swift.

    To the contrary, to an opposite purpose or intent; on the other side. ``They did it, not for want of instruction to the contrary.''
    --Bp. Stillingfleet.

Wiktionary
on the contrary

adv. (context conjunctive English) opposite of what had earlier been expected or assumed alt. (context conjunctive English) opposite of what had earlier been expected or assumed

WordNet
on the contrary

adv. contrary to expectations; "he didn't stay home; on the contrary, he went out with his friends" [syn: contrarily, to the contrary, contrariwise]

Wikipedia
On the Contrary

On The Contrary is an oil on canvas painting by Kay Sage, painted in 1952. It is housed in the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Usage examples of "on the contrary".

It is more likely, on the contrary, that criticism would completely fail in its object if it degenerated into a mechanical application of theory.

Others, on the contrary, do not wish to be answerable for anything, or blamed for anything, and owing to an inward self-contempt, seek to lay the blame for them selves somewhere else.