on the contrary

American  

phrase

1. the opposite is true; not at all; by no means (often used as an interjection).

2. (used to introduce a statement contradictory or opposing to a previous one).

---

on the contrary Idioms  

1. It's the opposite, as in Is his shoulder hurting?—On the contrary, it's all better, or We thought you didn't like opera.—On the contrary, I love it. This phrase, at first put as by or for or in the contrary, dates from the late 1300s; on has been used since the mid-1800s.

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

on the contrary

Asked whether he expected the situation to improve, Blume said "on the contrary, we have to assume that risks will get worse, worldwide".

From Barron's ● Aug. 23, 2026

But on the contrary, Nowak has named Meta a top pick among the hyperscalers.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026

This climb, on the contrary, benefits from the attributes of individual students.

From Slate ● Jun. 24, 2026

She said that on the contrary, she spends lavishly on him, including partly paying for a Mercedes for his 19th birthday.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 5, 2025

My mother, who I thought had every right under the sun to bask in the glory of my success, was, on the contrary, willing to let my father upstage her.

From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane

Related Words

• individually
• negatively
• separately
• variously