contrast

¹con·trast

verb \kən-ˈtrast, ˈkän-ˌ\

Definition of CONTRAST

transitive verb

: to set off in contrast : compare or appraise in respect to differences <contrast European and American manners> —often used with to or with <contrasting her with other women — Victoria Sackville-West>

intransitive verb

: to form a contrast

— con·trast·able \-ˈtras-tə-bəl, -ˌtras-\ adjective

— con·trast·ing·ly \-tiŋ-lē\ adverb

Examples of CONTRAST

1. Her black dress and the white background contrast sharply.
2. We compared and contrasted the two characters of the story.

Origin of CONTRAST

French contraster, from Middle French, to oppose, resist, alteration of contrester, from Vulgar Latin *contrastare, from Latin contra- + stare to stand — more at stand

First Known Use: 1646

Related to CONTRAST

Synonyms

differ, vary

Antonyms

compare, match

Related Words

deviate, diverge, divide, fluctuate, separate

Near Antonyms

accord, agree, conform, correspond

See Synonym Discussion at compare

Rhymes with CONTRAST

aghast, at last, avast, bedfast, Belfast, bombast, broadcast, bypast, dicast, dismast, downcast, dynast, fantast, flypast, forecast, foremast, forepassed, full blast, gymnast, half-caste, half-mast, handfast, holdfast, lightfast, mainmast, makefast, march-past, miscast, newscast, oblast, offcast, outcast, outcaste, precast, recast, repast, roughcast, sandblast, sand-cast, shamefast, sportscast, topmast, trade-last, typecast, upcast, webcast, windblast

²con·trast

noun \ˈkän-ˌtrast\

Definition of CONTRAST

1

a : juxtaposition of dissimilar elements (as color, tone, or emotion) in a work of art

b : degree of difference between the lightest and darkest parts of a picture

2

a : the difference or degree of difference between things having similar or comparable natures <the contrast between the two forms of government>

b : comparison of similar objects to set off their dissimilar qualities : the state of being so compared <the enforced simplicity in this diary … is in contrast to the intensity of his former life — Times Literary Supplement>

3

: a person or thing that exhibits differences when compared with another

Examples of CONTRAST

1. I observed an interesting contrast in the teaching styles of the two women.
2. Careful contrast of the twins shows some differences.
3. In contrast to last year's profits, the company is not doing very well.
4. The queen's wit and humor made the prince seem dull by contrast.
5. They spent millions of dollars on advertising. By way of contrast, our small company spent under 5,000 dollars.

First Known Use of CONTRAST

1711

Related to CONTRAST

Synonyms

difference, disagreement, discrepancy, disparateness, disparity, dissimilarity, dissimilitude, distance, distinction, distinctiveness, distinctness, diverseness, diversity, otherness, unlikeness

Antonyms

alikeness, analogousness, analogy, community, likeness, resemblance, sameness, similarity

Related Words

deviance, divergence; differentiability, discriminability, distinguishability; change, modification, variation; conflict, discord, discordance, dissension (also dissention), dissent, dissidence, disunity, friction, strife; variability, variance; anomalousness, dichotomy, incompatibility, incongruence, incongruity, incongruousness, nonconformity; disproportion, imbalance, inequality, nonequivalence

Near Antonyms

identicalness, identity; accordance, agreement, conformity, congruity, correspondence, parallelism, similitude; equality, equivalence, equivalency; homogeneity, homogeneousness, uniformity