contradistinction
/ˌkɑntɹədɪˈstɪŋkʃən/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.70 in modern English
22
Scrabble Score
17
Letters
5
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Distinction by contrast; the provision of one example against which another example may be defined.
noun
The quality of being contradistinctive.
Example Sentences
- "We used hamburgers and soda in contradistinction to healthy food."
- "The doctrine that everything is God, in contradistinction to the doctrine that God is everything."
- "Captain John Smith gives the name Reef Knot in 1627. Dana gives the name Square Knot in 1841. Few sailors speak of Square Knot except in contradistinction to Granny Knot but it is the common shore name for the knot and is in good repute among sailors."
- "It will be noted that on this service, in contradistinction to that from and to Bristol, extra trains are provided to cope with peak-hour conditions; [...]."
- "As a shorthand, we could also call it global trade, in contradistinction from local trade, the latter being within the nation state, or at short distance."
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- English distinction English contradistinction From contra- + distinction.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌkɑntɹədɪˈstɪŋkʃən/
- British English: /ˌkɒntɹədɪˈstɪŋkʃn̩/