Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

contradictory

/ˌkɑntɹəˈdɪktəɹi/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.48 in modern English

Syllables: con-tra-dic-to-ry
IPA: /ˌkɑntɹəˈdɪktəɹi/

21

Scrabble Score

13

Letters

5

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

That contradicts something, such as an argument.

adj

That is itself a contradiction.

adj

That is diametrically opposed to something.

adj

Mutually exclusive.

adj

Tending to contradict or oppose, contrarious.

noun

Either of a pair of propositions, that cannot both be true or both be false.

Example Sentences

"This wide variety of genuinely contradictory holy sutras generated a serious problem in later Chinese and Japanese Buddhism. In the early period the Chinese and Japanese did not know that there were so many schools of Buddhism which disagreed with one another. Chinese and Japanese Buddhists assumed that every single Buddhist sutra was the actual words of the Buddha himself. As a result, Chinese Buddhists had to come up with some kind of explanation for the contradictory claims and assertions apparently made by the same holy person. The Chinese T’ien-t’ai school decided that the texts were spoken by the Buddha but tailored to different audiences of vastly different capabilities and insight."
"Our attitudes toward sharks are contradictory. We fear them and yet we seek them out."
"Schemes […] contradictory to common sense."
"[White House deputy chief of policy Stephen] Miller has offered contradictory versions of Trump administration statements and court rulings."
"If one proposition is the negation of another, it follows trivially from the definition that the two propositions are contradictories. The converse does not hold. Two propositions can be contradictories without either being the negation of the other. For example: 3) John is more than six feet tall and 4) John is either exactly six feet tall or else less than six feet tall are contradictories, but neither is the negation of the other. Negation is one way, but not the only way, of forming a contradictory."

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin contradictorius, from Latin contradico. Equivalent to contradict + -ory.

Origin

Source language: Latin

Word Breakdown

Root: contradictorius, contradico
Suffix: contradict

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˌkɑntɹəˈdɪktəɹi/
British English: /ˌkɒntɹəˈdɪkt(ə)ɹi/

Inflected Forms

more contradictory (comparative) most contradictory (superlative) contradictories (plural)

Derived Forms

contradictorily contradictoriness intercontradictory noncontradictory uncontradictory

Phrases

contradictory antonym non-contradictory self-contradictory

Frequently Paired Words

contradict contradiction contradictorious oxymoron paradox

Synonyms

opposite incompatible mutually exclusive at odds conflicting self-contradictory confounding

Rhymes With

victory valedictory

Questions

How do you pronounce contradictory?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˌkɑntɹəˈdɪktəɹi/.
What does contradictory mean?: That contradicts something, such as an argument.
Where does contradictory come from?: It is traced to Latin.

How to pronounce contradictory

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