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

Gomez's attorney Matthew Rosengart says their allegations are "vague, generalised and contradictory" and that Gomez never agreed to, and did not, manage the company, or make the kind of commitments they are suggesting.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

The minutes of the July meeting show that he may have got what he wanted, with a wide variety of sometimes contradictory views recorded.

From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026

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

All you had to do was maintain a shellshocked expression and handle a variety of contradictory objects.

From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris

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, they interfused and penetrated each other.

From Short Studies on Great Subjects by James Anthony Froude

Co-ordinate Species, when positive, have the least contrariety; but there are also opposites, namely, negatives, contradictories and fuller contraries.

From Logic Deductive and Inductive by Carveth Read

It may be that the Bradleyan Absolute can admit contradictories as equally true, but such mental acrobatics do not come naturally to human thinking.

From The Unpopular Review, Number 19 July-December 1918 by Various

It was in view of such perplexities as these that Aristotle set forth the true contradictories of his four Modals.

From Logic, Inductive and Deductive by William Minto

Both the above theses are false; yet Free Will and Determinism are both true, and in a completely known universe would cease to be contradictories.

From Life and Matter A Criticism of Professor Haeckel's 'Riddle of the Universe' by Sir Oliver Lodge

Related Words

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