contradiction

American  

[kon-truh-dik-shuhn] / ˌkɒn trəˈdɪk ʃən /

noun

• contradictions
  plural

1. the act of contradicting; gainsaying or opposition.

2. assertion of the contrary or opposite; denial.

3. a statement or proposition that contradicts or denies another or itself and is logically incongruous.

4. direct opposition between things compared; inconsistency.

5. a contradictory act, fact, etc.

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contradiction British  

/ ˌkɒntrəˈdɪkʃən /

noun

1. the act of going against; opposition; denial

2. a declaration of the opposite or contrary

3. a statement that is at variance with itself (often in the phrase a contradiction in terms )

4. conflict or inconsistency, as between events, qualities, etc

5. a person or thing containing conflicting qualities

6. logic a statement that is false under all circumstances; necessary falsehood

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• intercontradiction
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• contradictions
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of contradiction

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English contradiccioun, from Anglo-French, from Latin contrādictiōn-, stem of contrādictiō “counterargument, objection, reply”; equivalent to contradict + -ion

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Explanation

A contradiction is a situation or ideas in opposition to one another. Declaring publicly that you are an environmentalist but never remembering to take out the recycling is an example of a contradiction. A "contradiction in terms" is a common phrase used to describe a statement that contains opposing ideas. Examples of a contradiction in terms include, "the gentle torturer," "the towering midget," or "a snowy summer's day." A person can also express a contradiction, like the person who professes atheism, yet goes to church every Sunday.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

contradiction contradictions

The contradiction of “Abrázame” is that everyone kept telling me that it should continue going up and explode at the end, but I had already overused that device on “Epistolares.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2026

China's leader Xi Jinping has acknowledged it too: he said the "principal contradiction" was "between the people's ever-growing needs for a better life and unbalanced and inadequate development".

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026

On climate change, the contradiction is even starker.

From Slate ● Sep. 25, 2026

He saw no contradiction between those stances and publicly made the case for both.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

If that means the United States is founded on a contradiction, then so be it.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

It didn’t hurt that Smith gave the performance of a lifetime, putting her heart and soul into the melodramatic contradictions of the character, antagonizing Arnold one second and swooning over him the next.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

Both men deny intentionally ever taking performance-enhancing drugs, but away from that issue their showdown is wrapped in the contradictions that define modern boxing.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

Whatever happens, the contradictions in the Vance household aren’t going away.

From Salon ● Sep. 4, 2026

No definition can reconcile all of these contradictions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026

There are many versions of this paradox but they are essentially equivalent: one would get contradictions if one were free to change the past.

From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking

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Related Words

• conflict
• difference
• disagreement
• discrepancy
• dispute
• inconsistency

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