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

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Etymology

Origin of contradictory

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

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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

Although many fathers in the study died from preventable causes, researchers also uncovered a seemingly contradictory finding.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026

The contradictory and inconsistent messaging leaves me feeling quite confused.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

In a post on Telegram, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi acknowledged Trump's rejection, but accused the president of previously making contradictory statements.

From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026

So her personal information, spread over multiple government databases, is messy, incomplete, often contradictory and may even have been inadvertently combined with others who share her name.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026

The scraps of information we received were frequently contradictory.

From "The Boy on the Wooden Box" by Leon Leyson

Its mathematical expres ion shows that it does not relate to contradictories.

From The Religious Sentiment Its Source and Aim: A Contribution to the Science and Philosophy of Religion by Daniel Garrison Brinton

The animal and the spiritual are not contradictories; they are the complements in the perfect character; and in the middle ages, as in all ages of genuine earnestness, interfused and penetrated each other.

From Froude's Essays in Literature and History With Introduction by Hilaire Belloc by Hilaire Belloc

Without an authoritative Logical Dictionary to refer to, where all contradictories, synonyms, and contraries may be found on record, Formal Logic will hardly sanction the free play of common sense.

From Logic Deductive and Inductive by Carveth Read

The distinction between Positive and Negative terms is not of much value in Logic, what importance would else attach to it being absorbed by the more definite distinction of contradictories.

From Logic Deductive and Inductive by Carveth Read

The much-lauded Hegelian philosophy is the system of Democritus, with the addition of a little more absurdity in the assertion of the identity of contradictories.

From A Hero and Some Other Folks by William A. (William Alfred) Quayle

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Related Words

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

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