contraposition

[kon-truh-puh-zish-uh n]

See more synonyms for contraposition on Thesaurus.com

noun

placement opposite or against.
opposition, contrast, or antithesis.
Logic. the inference drawn from a proposition by negating its terms and changing their order, as by inferring “Not B implies not A” from “A implies B.”

Origin of contraposition

First recorded in 1545–55, contraposition is from the Late Latin word contrāposition- (stem of contrāpositiō). See contra¹, position

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for contraposition

antithesis, contradiction, contradistinction, contrariety, contrariness, contrast, polarity

Examples from the Web for contraposition

Historical Examples of contraposition

It is for dealing with these intractable moods that Contraposition is required.
Logic, Inductive and Deductive
William Minto
We have given examples and illustrations in the paragraph describing Conversion by Contraposition.
Thought-Culture
William Walker Atkinson
A further process, known as Contraposition or Conversion by Negation, consists of conversion following on obversion.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 3
Various
They are all remarkable for harmonies attained by certain combinations of shade in gradations with colours in contraposition.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 8
Various
In this it differs from Obversion, Conversion, and Contraposition, each of which stands for one process.
Logic
Carveth Read

British Dictionary definitions for contraposition

contraposition

noun

the act of placing opposite or against, esp in contrast or antithesis
logic the derivation of the contrapositive of a given categorial proposition

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for contraposition

1550s, from Late Latin contrapositionem (nominative contrapositio), noun of action from past participle stem of contraponere, from contra "against" (see contra) + ponere "to put, place" (see position (n.)).