CONTRADICT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does contradict mean? 

• CONTRADICT (verb)
  The verb CONTRADICT has 4 senses:

1. be in contradiction with

2. deny the truth of

3. be resistant to

4. prove negative; show to be false

  Familiarity information: CONTRADICT used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CONTRADICT (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they contradict    ... he / she / it contradicts   
Past simple: contradicted   
Past participle: contradicted   
-ing form: contradicting   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Be in contradiction with

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

belie; contradict; negate

Hypernyms (to "contradict" is one way to...):

depart; deviate; diverge; vary (be at variance with; be out of line with)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Derivation:

contradictory (unable for both to exist or be true at the same time)

contradictory (in disagreement)

contradictory (that confounds or contradicts or confuses)

contradictory (of words or propositions so related that both cannot be true and both cannot be false)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Deny the truth of

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

contradict; contravene; negate

Hypernyms (to "contradict" is one way to...):

differ; disagree; dissent; take issue (be of different opinions)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "contradict"):

deny (declare untrue; contradict)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

contradiction (the speech act of contradicting someone)

contradictory (unable for both to exist or be true at the same time)

contradictory (of words or propositions so related that both cannot be true and both cannot be false)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Be resistant to

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

contradict; controvert; oppose

Context example:

The board opposed his motion

Hypernyms (to "contradict" is one way to...):

rebut; refute (overthrow by argument, evidence, or proof)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "contradict"):

blackball; negative; veto (vote against; refuse to endorse; refuse to assent)

dissent; protest; resist (express opposition through action or words)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 4

Meaning:

Prove negative; show to be false

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

contradict; negate

Hypernyms (to "contradict" is one way to...):

demonstrate; establish; prove; shew; show (establish the validity of something, as by an example, explanation or experiment)

Domain category:

logic; logical system; system of logic (a system of reasoning)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "contradict"):

invalidate; nullify (show to be invalid)

confute; disprove (prove to be false)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

 Context examples 

You hear now how I contradict myself.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

"You're a dear, and nothing else," answered Meg warmly, and no one contradicted her, for the 'Mouse' was the pet of the family.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

If it be not so, let Mr. Darcy contradict it.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

To a degree, I could contradict this instantly; but, when I began to reflect that others might have felt the same—her own family, nay, perhaps herself—I was no longer at my own disposal.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

Even my old man succumbed and did not contradict her, but gave me double share instead.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Now, let me just run over the course of events, and you will contradict me if I go wrong.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Such outgassing is a behaviour typical for comets and contradicts the previous classification of `Oumuamua as an interstellar asteroid.

(ESO’s VLT Sees `Oumuamua Getting a Boost, ESO)

He spends his days in uttering noble sentiments, and contradicting them by ignoble actions.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The UGR group’s findings contradict some of the research carried out to date in the psychology of humour.

(Self-defeating humour promotes psychological well-being, University of Granada)

The researchers' findings also contradict the idea that a commonly used index of vegetation greenness is a useful cue for migration timing in some locales.

(Seasonality of bird migration responds to environmental cues, NSF)