contradictory

American  

[kon-truh-dik-tuh-ree] / ˌkɒn trəˈdɪk tə ri /

adjective

1. asserting the contrary or opposite; contradicting; inconsistent; logically opposite.

   contradictory statements.

   Synonyms:

   paradoxical, irreconcilable

2. tending or inclined to contradict.

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noun

• contradictories
  plural

1. Logic. a proposition so related to a second that it is impossible for both to be true or both to be false.

contradictory British  

/ ˌkɒntrəˈdɪktərɪ /

adjective

1. inconsistent; incompatible

2. given to argument and contention

   a contradictory person

3. logic (of a pair of statements) unable both to be true or both to be false under the same circumstances Compare contrary subcontrary

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noun

1. logic a statement that cannot be true when a given statement is true or false when it is false

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• contradictoriness
  noun
• intercontradictory
  adjective
• noncontradictory
  adjective
• uncontradictory
  adjective
• contradictorily
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• contradictories
  plural

Etymology

Origin of contradictory

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Late Latin contrādictōrius; equivalent to contradict + -ory ¹

Explanation

A contradictory statement is one that says two things that cannot both be true. An example: My sister is jealous of me because I'm an only child. Contradictory is related to the verb contradict, which means to say or do the opposite, and contrary, which means to take an opposite view. When witnesses give contradictory accounts of crimes—one saying the assailant had a knife and the other a gun—police officers often assume that at least one of the witnesses is lying.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

contradictory contradictories

It’s hard to tell from his contradictory actions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026

These contradictory impressions persist in the new production of “Waiting in the Wings,” running in repertory at Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum through Oct.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

"Markets are once again being forced to trade two seemingly contradictory stories on the same screen," said Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management.

From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026

The researchers say these seemingly contradictory cosmological puzzles may actually point toward the same conclusion.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 14, 2026

You neither are agreed upon the Definition of the Soul, nor on that of Matter...How furiously contradictory are these Opinions!

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

For contradictories are positive and negative in essence and, when least ambiguously stated, also in form.

From Logic Deductive and Inductive by Carveth Read

Hegelianism was, in principle, the identity of contradictories, the identity of truth and error, of good and evil.

From The War Upon Religion Being an Account of the Rise and Progress of Anti-christianism in Europe by Francis A. (Francis Aloysius) Cunningham

The universe, said the Pythagoreans, is composed of pairs of opposites and contradictories, and the fundamental character of these opposites is that they are composed of the odd and even.

From A Critical History of Greek Philosophy by W. T. (Walter Terence) Stace

For it would follow that contradictories can exist at the one time: for the "definition of a thing is what its name expresses," as is said in Metaph. iv.

From Summa Theologica, Part III (Tertia Pars) From the Complete American Edition by Saint Aquinas Thomas

All high truth is the union of two contradictories.

From English Synonyms and Antonyms With Notes on the Correct Use of Prepositions by James Champlin Fernald

Related Words

• antithetical
• conflicting
• contrary
• incompatible
• inconsistent
• paradoxical