counterintuitive

adjective coun·ter·in·tu·i·tive \ ˌkau̇n-tər-in-ˈtü-ə-tiv , -ˈtyü- \

Updated on: 20 Apr 2018

Definition of counterintuitive

: contrary to what one would intuitively expect

As counterintuitive as it may seem, the universe has no center, and it has no boundary.
—Jim Bell

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counterintuitively

play \ˌkau̇n-tər-in-ˈtü-ə-tiv-lē, -ˈtyü-\ adverb

See counterintuitive defined for English-language learners

Examples of counterintuitive in a Sentence

It may seem counterintuitive, but we do burn calories when we are sleeping.

Recent Examples of counterintuitive from the Web

Through a series of thought experiments, Einstein demonstrated that the consequences of special relativity are often counterintuitive — even startling.

— NBC News, "What is relativity? Einstein's mind-bending theory explained," 13 Apr. 2018
This seems counterintuitive to many of us, who think of pain as something that heals with time and distance.

— laura dorwart, SELF, "The Trauma of Surviving a School Shooting—and How You Can Help," 27 Mar. 2018
All of which raises more questions about whether the commercial ethos is counterintuitive to the spirit of street art.

— deborah vankin, latimes.com, "Graffiti art exhibition aims to go 'Beyond the Streets'," 22 Mar. 2018
That counterintuitive finding was probably the result of a couple of the heart patients in the family medical history group being hospitalized for reasons unrelated to their participation in the study, Christensen said.

— sharon begley, STAT, "Sequencing patients’ genomes might not break the health care bank, study finds," 22 Mar. 2018
The findings are counterintuitive because Republicans generally favor a smaller federal government.

— matt campbell, kansascity, "Do red states really depend more on federal money? Not Kansas | The Kansas City Star," 20 Mar. 2018
The victory might seem counterintuitive, considering that in Lindberg's hometown of Bollnas, Sweden, only about 360 miles from the Arctic Circle, the golf season is barely four months long.

— mike james, latimes.com, "Pernilla Lindberg beats Inbee Park in ANA Inspiration playoff for her first LPGA victory," 3 Apr. 2018
In any event, the black/white results seem counterintuitive.

— ben joravsky, Chicago Reader, "News / Politics / Race Another ‘grass gap’ in Chicago opens between blacks and whites on legalization," 2 Apr. 2018
This may seem counterintuitive, but hormone levels can increase or decrease depending on the type and timing of stress.

— amy mathews amos, Scientific American, "Oil- and Gas-Drilling Noise Stresses Birds," 1 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'counterintuitive.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.