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contrariwise

[kon-trer-ee-wahyz or for 3, kuh n-trair-]
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adverb
  1. in the opposite direction or way.
  2. on the contrary; in direct opposition to a statement, attitude, etc.
  3. perversely.
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Origin of contrariwise

First recorded in 1300–50, contrariwise is from the Middle English word contrary-wyse. See contrary, -wise
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

diagonallyhorizontallyverticallycrosswaysconverseinvertedevertedturnedoppositeangularathwartawrycrisscrosscrosscrossingoverperpendicularsidewaysthwarttransverse

Examples from the Web for contrariwise

Historical Examples

  • And, contrariwise, there is tripe—“the stomach of the ox or of some other ruminant.”

    A Book of Burlesques

    H. L. Mencken

  • The demand may be greater for boys than for girls, or contrariwise.

    Folkways

    William Graham Sumner

  • Contrariwise, the flute was being played more and more slowly.

    IT and Other Stories

    Gouverneur Morris

  • If prime figures be reciprocall in base and height, they are equall: And contrariwise.

  • If any one angle of triangle be lesse then the other two, it is acute: And contrariwise.

British Dictionary definitions for contrariwise

contrariwise

adverb
  1. from a contrasting point of view; on the other hand
  2. in the reverse way or direction
  3. (kənˈtrɛərɪˌwaɪz) in a contrary manner
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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