on the contrary

American  

phrase

1. the opposite is true; not at all; by no means (often used as an interjection).

2. (used to introduce a statement contradictory or opposing to a previous one).

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on the contrary Idioms  

1. It's the opposite, as in Is his shoulder hurting?—On the contrary, it's all better, or We thought you didn't like opera.—On the contrary, I love it. This phrase, at first put as by or for or in the contrary, dates from the late 1300s; on has been used since the mid-1800s.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

on the contrary

But on the contrary, Nowak has named Meta a top pick among the hyperscalers.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026

This climb, on the contrary, benefits from the attributes of individual students.

From Slate ● Jun. 24, 2026

She said that on the contrary, she spends lavishly on him, including partly paying for a Mercedes for his 19th birthday.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 5, 2025

But, he added "on the contrary it can also serve to decrease reporting and decrease the level of threat and risk".

From BBC ● Dec. 1, 2025

At the final moment, however, Amaranta did not feel frustrated, but, on the contrary, free of all bitterness because death had awarded her the privilege of announcing itself several years ahead of time.

From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Related Words

• individually
• negatively
• separately
• variously