contrary to

preposition

: in conflict with : despite
contrary to orders, he set out alone

Examples of contrary to in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Both teams initially wore white socks, contrary to regulations which require each team to wear different colors. Issy Ronald, CNN, 16 Mar. 2024 This new tax is contrary to private property rights and good tax policy. Pierluigi Oliverio, The Mercury News, 15 Mar. 2024 In the immediate aftermath, Lucas killed the Senate’s stand-alone arena bill without a hearing — contrary to Senate practice and without buy-in from Democratic colleagues. Gregory S. Schneider, Washington Post, 4 Mar. 2024 The department also issued two violations to the landlord for failure to maintain the building and for occupying the building contrary to city records, The New York Post reports. Michael Dorgan, Fox News, 1 Mar. 2024 Witness last week’s mockery of his old foil Tucker Carlson, who conducted a deferential interview with Vladimir Putin, then visited a Moscow supermarket in an attempt to show viewers that contrary to what the news media tells you, Russia is more than just a brutal authoritarian state. Jason Zinoman, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2024 This is contrary to what QuoteWizard by LendingTree found in 2022, in which the online insurance service found that nearly 10 California cities had the worst drivers. Hanh Truong, Sacramento Bee, 20 Feb. 2024 Finding molecular water on Iris and Massalia, in particular, suggests liquid water can exist for eons on space rocks in the inner solar system—contrary to previous assumptions that any water would have evaporated from these asteroids under the heat of the sun. Catherine Duncan, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Feb. 2024 And yet, contrary to claims by Trump and MAGA acolytes, Ukraine is not losing. Trudy Rubin, Twin Cities, 8 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'contrary to.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of contrary to was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near contrary to

Cite this Entry

“Contrary to.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/contrary%20to. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on contrary to

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!