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contradictory

Syllabification: (con·tra·dic·to·ry)
Pronunciation: /ˌkäntrəˈdikt(ə)rē/

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Definition of contradictory

adjective

  • mutually opposed or inconsistent:the two attitudes are contradictory
  • containing elements which are inconsistent or in conflict:the committee rejected the policy as too vague and internally contradictory
  • Logic (of two propositions) so related that one and only one must be true. Compare with contrary.

noun (plural contradictories)

Logic
  • a contradictory proposition.

Derivatives

contradictorily

Pronunciation: /-ˈdikt(ə)rəlē/

adverb

contradictoriness

noun

Origin:

late Middle English (as a term in logic denoting a proposition or principle that contradicts another): from late Latin contradictorius, from Latin contradict- 'spoken against', from the verb contradicere (see contradict)

contradictory in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of contradictory in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

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