Synonyms for contrary
- adjective
- noun
Synonyms by meaning
Adjective
1. Perverse
perverse, obstinate, stubborn, wayward, disobedient, refractory, headstrong, cantankerous, ornery, intractable, unruly, balky, bolshie UK, cross dated rare, froward formal dated
2. Contradictory — opposed; contradictory; inconsistent
contradictory, different, unfavorable US, unfavourable UK, opposing, opposed, disagreeable, adverse, inconsistent, counter, conflicting, inimical, repugnant, incompatible, hostile, incongruous, heterogeneous, antagonistic, discrepant formal, discordant, alien, antonymous, contrarious dated
Other
Noun
Other
Definitions
- adj. 1
Opposed; contradictory; inconsistent.
- adj. 2
Opposite; in an opposite direction; in opposition; adverse.
- n. 1
The opposite.
Related words
- Word family
- contrarily contrariness contrarious contrariwise contra
- Phrases
- quite the contrary contrary to
Forms
- Plural
- contraries → opposites, reverses, antitheses, converses…
Example sentences
- perverse Layla was victim to Sami's every perverse whim.
- obstinate I've heard that Tom and Mary are quite obstinate.
- contradictory What they say is contradictory to their feelings.
- unfavorable She bore up well under unfavorable circumstances.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| contrary | falling | |
| perverse | rising | |
| obstinate | steady | |
| contradictory | rising | |
| unfavorable | falling | |
| contrariant | steady |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 5 letters
- cross1, alien3, balky2
- 6 letters
- unruly3, ornery3
- 7 letters
- counter2, opposed2, reverse2, hostile2, adverse2, wayward2, bolshie, froward
- 8 letters
- opposite3, opposing3, stubborn2, converse2, perverse2, inimical4
- 9 letters
- different3, repugnant3, obstinate3
- 10 letters
- reciprocal4, antithesis4, refractory4, headstrong2, discordant3, discrepant, antonymous, witherward
- 11 letters
- conflicting3, unfavorable5, intractable4, disobedient5, incongruous4, contrarious, contrariant
- 12 letters
- inconsistent4, incompatible5, antagonistic5, unfavourable, disagreeable5, cantankerous4
- 13 letters
- contradictory5, heterogeneous5
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (alien3 = 3 syllables).
In other languages
- Français
- contraire
- Italiano
- contrario
- Español
- contrario
- Deutsch
- entgegengesetzt
- Català
- contrari