Definitions

on the contrary

ADVERB

again

Synonyms

STRONGEST

also further then

WEAK

additionally besides furthermore moreover on the other hand

ADVERB

differently

Synonyms

STRONGEST

individually negatively separately variously

WEAK

abnormally adversely antagonistically antithetically asymmetrically conflictingly contradictorily contrarily contrastingly contrastively discordantly disparately dissimilarly distinctively divergently diversely hostilely in a different manner incompatibly incongruously nonconformably on the other hand oppositely poles apart uniquely unorthodoxly unusually vice versa

Antonyms

STRONGEST

together

ADVERB

vice versa

Synonyms

WEAK

about-face again backwards contra contrarily contrariwise contrary conversely far from it in reverse inversely mutatis mutandis oppositely reversed the opposite way the other way around turn about upside down

CONJUNCTION

Synonyms

WEAK

contrary to in reverse instead instead of oppositely or not or not exactly or rather rather reversing it

Antonyms

WEAK

neither nor without choice

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The news, on the contrary, helps prove that we can’t.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 25, 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

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

“Impossible!—when I told you how she, on the contrary, deserted me: the idea of my insolvency cooled, or rather extinguished, her flame in a moment.”

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë

on the contrary

Example Sentences

Related Words