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

It is, on the contrary, a way of continuing their legacy and celebrating them.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 31, 2026

“It is not a great disproportion between ourselves and others which produces envy, but on the contrary, a proximity,” wrote David Hume, the 18th-century philosopher and economist.

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

Hitler believed the German people must never be allowed to “cool off”; on the contrary, they had to be subjected to a perpetual drumbeat.

From Salon • May 24, 2025

I had half expected her to be angry at this inquiry, but on the contrary, it was almost as though she had been long awaiting an opportunity to raise the very topic.

From "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro

Related Words

• individually
• negatively
• separately
• variously