26984 words

contradiction

3 definitions • 3 examples
1
the fact of something being the complete opposite of something else or very different from something else, so that one of them must be wrong:

Examples:

You say that you're good friends and yet you don't trust him. Isn't that a contradiction?
2
a combination of words that is nonsense because some of the words suggest the opposite of some of the others:

Examples:

Many people think that an honest politician is a contradiction in terms.
3
a fact or statement that is the opposite of what someone has said or that is so different from another fact or statement that one of them must be wrong:

Examples:

[ C ] fig. His life was full of contradictions (= things that are not likely to appear together).

Navigation