contra²

[kon-truh; Spanish kawn-trah]

See more synonyms for contra on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural con·tras

[kon-truh z; Spanish kawn-trahs] /ˈkɒn trəz; Spanish ˈkɔn trɑs/.

(often initial capital letter) a member of a counterrevolutionary guerrilla group in Nicaragua.

Origin of contra²

< American Spanish, shortening of contrarrevolucionario counterrevolutionary

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

Examples from the Web for contras

Contemporary Examples

What was it Ronald Reagan called the Contras and the Afghan mujahedin?
The CIA’s Wrong: Arming Rebels Works
Christopher Dickey
October 19, 2014
Actually some of the Contras whom I knew were the moral equivalent of pathological killers.
The CIA’s Wrong: Arming Rebels Works
Christopher Dickey
October 19, 2014
His books include Securing the City, Summer of Deliverance, Expats, and With the Contras.
The Hero Summit 2013 Speakers
September 10, 2013

Historical Examples

Si, seores, he had indeed, until Colonel Dupin and the Contras arrived.
The Missourian
Eugene P. (Eugene Percy) Lyle
Seeing Ney, he supposed the Contras at no great distance, and a shot would bring them on his heels.
The Missourian
Eugene P. (Eugene Percy) Lyle
He had deserted the Contras to waylay the rich bullion convoy of which Rodrigo Galn had told him.
The Missourian
Eugene P. (Eugene Percy) Lyle
The guerrillas, repulsed by the Americans, fled upon the Contras, whereat the Americans swept them both back indiscriminately.
The Missourian
Eugene P. (Eugene Percy) Lyle
At Contras Henry of Navarre was reported as cut to pieces, yet his loss was less than 10 per cent.
Chattanooga and Chickamauga
Henry V. Boynton

Word Origin and History for contras

Contras

n.

see Contra.

contra

mid-14c., from Latin contra (prep. and adv.) "against," originally "in comparison with," ablative singular feminine of *com-teros, from Old Latin com "with, together" (see com-) + -tr, zero degree of the comparative suffix -ter-.

Contra

n.

1981, "anti-Sandinista Nicaraguan," short for Spanish contrarrevolucionario "counter-revolutionary."

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Examples from the Web for contras

Contemporary Examples

What was it Ronald Reagan called the Contras and the Afghan mujahedin?

Actually some of the Contras whom I knew were the moral equivalent of pathological killers.

His books include Securing the City, Summer of Deliverance, Expats, and With the Contras.

Historical Examples

Si, seores, he had indeed, until Colonel Dupin and the Contras arrived.

Seeing Ney, he supposed the Contras at no great distance, and a shot would bring them on his heels.

He had deserted the Contras to waylay the rich bullion convoy of which Rodrigo Galn had told him.

The guerrillas, repulsed by the Americans, fled upon the Contras, whereat the Americans swept them both back indiscriminately.

At Contras Henry of Navarre was reported as cut to pieces, yet his loss was less than 10 per cent.