run counter to

Idioms  

1. Be in conflict with, oppose, as in Practice often runs counter to theory. This idiom, first recorded in 1843, uses counter in the sense of “in an opposite direction.”

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

run counter to

But the implications, in his view, also run counter to Warsh’s.

From Barron's ● Apr. 24, 2026

In the latest stress point, CSU has objected to 16 community college degree proposals, contending that they run counter to state law provisions designed to protect its own university degree offerings.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 10, 2026

But keeping a smaller EV manufacturing footprint seems to run counter to the idea of producing competitively priced, profit-making EVs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 16, 2025

From a human-resources perspective, it makes little sense to effectively conflate vacation days with work-from-home days, and it also seems to run counter to promoting goodwill.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2025

Now and then, however, in all positions, we come across natures which run counter to the influences around them, or which by a happy chemistry decompose the evil and turn its elements to good.

From Pastor Pastorum by Latham, Rev. Henry

Related Words

• argue
• assail
• attack
• debate
• defy
• deny
• disagree
• dispute
• face
• fight
• prevent
• protest
• resist