contrary

Universal Words adjective, noun-see also CONTRARY adjective 1 ~ to sth different from sth; against sth: Contrary to popular belief, many cats dislike milk. * The government has decided that the publication of the report would be 'contrary to the public interest'. * Contrary to expectations and the weather forecast, we had a fine day for the experiment. 2 [onlybeforenoun] completely different in nature or direction SYNOPPOSITE: contrary advice / opinions / arguments * The contrary view is that prison provides an excellent education-in crime. noun (the contrary) [sing.] the opposite fact, event or situation: In the end the contrary was proved true: he was innocent and she was guilty. IDIOMS on the contrary used to introduce a statement that says the opposite of the last one: 'It must have been terrible.' 'On the contrary, I enjoyed every minute.' quite the contrary used to emphasize that the opposite of what has been said is true: I don't find him funny at all. Quite the contrary. to the contrary showing or proving the opposite: Show me some evidence to the contrary (= proving that sth is not true). * I will expect to see you on Sunday unless I hear anything to the contrary (= that you are not coming). adjective (formal, disapproving) (usually of children) behaving badly; choosing to do or say the opposite of what is expected: She was such a contrary child-it was impossible to please her. seealsoCONTRARY contrarily adverb contrariness noun [U]