contrast

American  

[kuhn-trast, kon-trast, kon-trast] / kənˈtræst, ˈkɒn træst, ˈkɒn træst /

verb (used with object)

• contrasts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• contrasted,
  past participle,  past
• contrasting
  present participle

1. 

   to compare in order to show unlikeness or differences; note the opposite natures, purposes, etc., of.

   Contrast the political rights of Romans and Greeks.

   Synonyms:

   oppose, distinguish, discriminate, differentiate

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verb (used without object)

• contrasts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• contrasted,
  past participle,  past
• contrasting
  present participle

1. to show striking difference when compared with or viewed alongside something else.

   Youth leadership on the issue contrasts with government inaction.

   The blue of the wood trim contrasts nicely with the pale yellow walls.

2. Linguistics. to differ in a way that can serve to distinguish meanings.

   The sounds (p) and (b) contrast in the words “pin” and “bin.”

noun

• contrasts
  plural

1. a striking difference.

   The study revealed interesting contrasts between people who regularly read books and those who don't.

2. a person or thing that is strikingly different in comparison.

   The weather down here is a welcome contrast to what we're having back home.

3. opposition or juxtaposition of different formal elements in a work of art, music, or literature to intensify each element's properties and make the work more dynamically expressive.

   The artist makes effective use of color contrast in the illustrations.

   There’s a stark contrast of tempo in the sonata’s two movements.

4. the act of comparing people or things so as to draw attention to striking differences between them.

   Each essay topic involves the contrast of two of the novels studied in the course.

5. Photography. the relative difference between light and dark areas of a print, digital photograph, or negative.

6. the brightness ratio of the lightest to the darkest part of the screen image on a television, computer, or other electronic device.

7. Linguistics. a difference between linguistic elements, especially sounds, that can serve to distinguish meanings.

idioms

1. stand in contrast to / with, to show a striking difference when compared to or with.

   The actor’s on-screen gun violence stands in contrast to her real-life persona as an advocate for gun control.

2. in contrast, in comparison to something that is the opposite or strikingly different in some respect.

   In contrast to personal computers, which are rare in that country, cell phones are widely available and even most children have their own.

3. by contrast. see by contrast.

4. compare and contrast. see compare and contrast.

contrast British  

verb

1. (often foll by with) to distinguish or be distinguished by comparison of unlike or opposite qualities

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noun

1. distinction or emphasis of difference by comparison of opposite or dissimilar things, qualities, etc (esp in the phrases by contrast, in contrast to or with )

2. a person or thing showing notable differences when compared with another

3. (in painting) the effect of the juxtaposition of different colours, tones, etc

4. 1. (of a photographic emulsion) the degree of density measured against exposure used

   2. the extent to which adjacent areas of an optical image, esp on a television screen or in a photographic negative or print, differ in brightness

5. psychol the phenomenon that when two different but related stimuli are presented close together in space and/or time they are perceived as being more different than they really are

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• contrastable
  adjective
• contrasting
  adjective
• contrastive
  adjective
• quasi-contrasted
  adjective
• uncontrastable
  adjective
• uncontrasted
  adjective
• uncontrasting
  adjective
• well-contrasted
  adjective
• contrastably
  adverb
• contrastingly
  adverb
• contrastively
  adverb
• uncontrastably
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• contrasts
  plural

Participles

• contrasting
  present
• contrasted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• contrast
  simple
• contrasts
  simple
• have contrasted
  perfect
• has contrasted
  perfect
• am contrasting
  progressive
• are contrasting
  progressive
• is contrasting
  progressive
• have been contrasting
  perfect progressive
• has been contrasting
  perfect progressive

Past

• contrasted
  simple
• had contrasted
  perfect
• was contrasting
  progressive
• were contrasting
  progressive
• had been contrasting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will contrast
  simple
• will have contrasted
  perfect
• will be contrasting
  progressive
• will have been contrasting
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of contrast

First recorded in 1480–90; (for the verb) from Middle French contraster, from Italian contrastare “to contest,” from Latin contrā- contra- ¹ ( def. ) + stāre “to stand” ( cf. status); (for the noun) earlier contraste, from French, from Italian contrasto “conflict,” derivative of contrastare

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Explanation

The verb contrast means to show a difference, like photos that reveal how much weight someone lost by contrasting the "before" and "after" shots. You probably know contrast in its relation to compare. To contrast something is to look for differences among two or more elements, but compare is to do the opposite, to look for similarities. It's easy to tell the difference if you remember that contrast comes from the Latin root contra, and means "against." Contrast is also a noun meaning basically the same thing — you might notice the contrast of a dark tree against a snow-covered hill.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

contrast contrasts contrasted contrasting

Spoon that over a hot scallion pancake for a delightful contrast of crisp, creamy and savory.

From Salon ● Nov. 5, 2026

Its quarterly revenue, by contrast, jumped 8.6 percent year-on-year to 13.4 trillion yen, thanks to an increase in unit sales in Japan and Europe and stabilisation in North America, despite tariffs imposed by Washington.

From Barron's ● Nov. 5, 2026

In contrast, Malaysia's official rhetoric on the haze has been relatively muted.

From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026

But they make sense in light of the contrast between economic and political uncertainty.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 2, 2026

He was wearing sunglasses and—in contrast to the shapeless, tweedy rags he generally wore—a sharp and very new Italian suit.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

Donald Trump has always been a figure of contrasts.

From Slate ● Nov. 3, 2026

Yaroslavsky contrasts the city setup with that of Los Angeles County, which she says has a well-known leader in Director of Public Works Mark Pestrella.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026

The relative stability in gilts recently contrasts with periods earlier this year, when yields on long-dated bonds spiked due to U.K. fiscal concerns and geopolitical uncertainties.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026

This contrasts with Monmouthshire which had the highest household income at £61,700 as well as the most expensive average house prices at £285,000 for a first-time buyer and £387,606 overall.

From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026

My mother, listening to this debate, couldn’t fail to notice the stark contrasts between her two suitors.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

The 6-0 thumpings handed out to Wrexham and Lincoln are contrasted with some disappointing home defeats, including the last two outings at London Stadium.

From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026

Just as the organizers had hoped, the demonstration caught the attention of users on X and other social-media platforms, where some contrasted the relatively tame demonstration with the more chaotic protests unfolding in Europe.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2026

The message contrasted from that of a post Wietrzyk made earlier in the week that, according to the Athletic, also included a selfie of the athlete apparently in a hospital bed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

Her rhetoric about being a submissive housewife contrasted with her role as TPUSA’s CEO.

From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026

He was living to be one hundred years old and played a smoothly fluent game of billiards that contrasted with his own ninety-four-year-old brittleness.

From "A Farewell To Arms" by Ernest Hemingway

Bulgarians voted Sunday in a presidential runoff between two candidates with contrasting visions on the war in Ukraine, following a series of drone attacks on commercial vessels in the Black Sea.

From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026

The contrasting visions were clear to see: the strong, sole leader – or a collective approach.

From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026

And Donte King, whose family endures racism both subtle and blatant, praises the filmmakers’ attempts to humanize people with contrasting viewpoints, saying he was pleased with getting to tell his story.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

Luxury-fashion company Brunello Cucinelli BC 0.63%increase; up pointing triangle again lifted its sales expectations for the full year on the back of continued momentum, contrasting with lackluster performance elsewhere in Europe’s luxury-goods sector.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

The spread of writing has occurred by either of two contrasting methods, which find parallels throughout the history of technology and ideas.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

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Related Words

• comparison
• contradiction
• disagreement
• disparity
• distinction
• divergence
• diversity
• opposition
• variation

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