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

---

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

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

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

Ms. Jeon, by contrast, has a haunted, hunted and withdrawn presence—moving among her family and friends as if her mind and spirit are continually elsewhere.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

If you’re a short-term stock-market timer, in contrast, the implication of Crill’s analysis is that you need to first become a bond-market timer.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026

Steve Marsh, one of the judges and art editor at BBC Sky at Night Magazine, said the image by Ali Alobaidly showed "flawless presentation, pin-sharp details and dynamic contrast".

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

By contrast, no trans-Atlantic passenger service via airplane was available until 1939.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

White immigrants, in contrast, were not so easy to identify and separate, thus amplifying the anxieties of ethnic contamination and miscegenation in the 1920s.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

The snakes are named for their distinctive yellow underside, which contrasts dramatically with their darker top half.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

"Brazil has regulations that have expanded and forced platforms to develop control and verification mechanisms," Paganotti said, adding that this contrasts with a dearth of legislation elsewhere in the region.

From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026

But the musical contrasts in Hippie Sunshine serve a bigger purpose.

From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026

This contrasts with closed-source AI, which is designed to be controlled and private.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026

That contrasts sharply with the situation in Australia, the Americas, and South Africa, where European settlement was numerous and lasting and replaced the original native population over large areas.

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

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

From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026

It was contrasted with a picture released by the court on Thursday, in which a worn, white-haired Xu stood unsmiling, flanked by two police officers as he faced a panel of judges.

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026

That contrasted with some other high-profile names, who Haas have continued to outperform this year.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

Yet SpaceX’s gains contrasted with an otherwise down day on Wall Street.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

The purplish-brown body contrasted with the whiteness of the tub.

From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

It is particularly pertinent given the contrasting styles on Saturday.

From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026

An unexpected bold red with a contrasting strip of vibrant blue trim.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

Inside, the modern farmhouse blends Dewan and Kazee’s contrasting design tastes, pairing sleek contemporary elements with warmer and more personal touches.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026

The unfaithful Clytemnestra and Helen are supposed to be contrasting forces to Anne Hathaway’s loyal Penelope.

From Salon ● Sep. 3, 2026

The jaunty patterns of popular dances were put together into contrasting groups of three to provide variation - slow-fast-slow or fast-slow-fast - even when the consorts were not accompanying actual dancing.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

Related Words

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