Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

contra-

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.31 in modern English

Syllables
con-tra-
IPA
8
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
3
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

prefix

Against; in opposition to.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱe? Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm Proto-Italic *kom Proto-Italic *kom- Proto-Indo-European *-teros Proto-Italic *-teros Proto-Italic *komterosder. Proto-Italic *komterād Latin contrābor. English contra- From Latin contrā (“against”). Doublet of counter-.

Origin

Word Breakdown

Derived Forms

contraband contraceptive contraclockwise contradict contradiction contraindication contrarotating contrary

Frequently Paired Words

contra

Synonyms

anti- counter- dis- ob-

Questions

What does contra- mean?
Against; in opposition to.
Where does contra- come from?
It is traced to Latin.

How to pronounce contra-

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “contra-”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “contra-”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “contra-” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.