Contrary and Opposite

Contrary

Contrary adjective - Being as different as possible.
Usage example: the other jurors seemed sure the defendant was guilty, but I came to the contrary conclusion

Opposite is a synonym for contrary in support topic. In some cases you can use "Opposite" instead the word "Contrary" as a noun or an adjective or an adverb, when it comes to topics like different, unlike. popular alternative

Opposite

Opposite adjective - Being as different as possible.
Usage example: those two are fundamentally opposite—she being loquacious and outgoing where he is quiet and reserved

Contrary is a synonym for opposite in reverse topic. You can use "Contrary" instead the word "Opposite" as a noun or an adjective or an adverb, if it concerns topics such as different, unlike, support, conflicting. popular alternative

Nearby Words: opposition, opposed, oppositely

How words are described

exact exact contrary exact opposite

Both words in one sentence

  • Rainbow Speak Contrary to what one might expect, this is not the binary opposite of Black Speech.
    Source: Rainbow Speak
  • The Anti-Nihilist Contrary to Angel, his son Connor also encounters an existential crisis, but he acts as a mirror image to his father by going the opposite route and becoming a Straw Nihilist.
  • That One Boss Contrary to Kirie and the Kusabi from the first and second game, who had One-Hit Kills but were rather slow and had easy to read movements, Reika is the complete opposite.
    Source: That One Boss
Cite this Source
Opposite and Contrary. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 15, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/contrary/opposite
Contrary & Opposite. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/contrary/opposite>.
Opposite or Contrary. 2016. Accessed August 15, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/contrary/opposite.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "contrary" and "opposite" have occurred on timeline