contradiction
/kɒntrəˈdɪkʃ(ə)n
/- And the judge very obviously was struggling with the clear contradiction between those two ideas today.
- Neither side has a monopoly on either good ideas or glaring contradictions.
- The mass of contradictions in statements means someone is lying, he said.
- His complex character is presented as a contradiction, as he despises cheats but finds many ways throughout the film to prove that he is one.
- In the case of Henry Moore, this presents an immediate contradiction.
- The new antithesis forms out of elements of the original contradiction that didn't make it into the synthesis.
- We'll arrive at the rather obvious contradiction in this position in one moment.
- As an observer, I can testify that the comments made by these powerful and successful people were in flat contradiction to the caricature.
- They've already argued that these two statements are in bold contradiction.
Synonyms
Phrases
contradiction in terms
Origin
Late Middle English: via Old French from Latin contradictio(n-), from the verb contradicere (see contradict).
verdict from Middle English:
After the Norman Conquest, French became the language of the law in England and many French legal terms made their way into English. Verdict came immediately from French, but goes back to Latin verus ‘true’, source also of verify (Middle English), veritable (Late Middle English), and very (Middle English), and dicere ‘to say’, from which addict (mid 16th century) originally ‘assigned by decree’ and so bound to something; condition (Middle English) speaking with, agreement; contradiction (Late Middle English) ‘speaking against’; dictate (early 17th century); predict (late 16th century) ‘speaking in advance’; and numerous other words derive.