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

plural

contradictories

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

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

Etymology

Origin of contradictory

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

Example Sentences

"A lot of the studies on this explosion provide different, and sometimes contradictory, explanations. It's still early in our understanding of what really happened."

From Science Daily • Mar. 30, 2026

But it presented me with a unique research problem, for no anecdote from PARC’s rich history is burdened by so much contradictory testimony.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2026

As Simon Elliott describes in his biography “The African Emperor,” Severus was a mercurial and contradictory character, capable by turns of savagery, cunning, wit and generosity, and always blessed with a sense of the theatrical.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026

Or, worse still, he has proclaimed many objectives, some of them contradictory with one another, many of them inconsistent with objectives proclaimed by his top advisers, because they don’t know what his objectives are either.

From Slate • Mar. 13, 2026

I had come to realize that I didn’t have any feelings towards the AT that weren’t confused and contradictory.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson

Related Words

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