contradiction

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A situation in which two things cannot both be true at the same time.

   There is a contradiction between what he says and what he does.

2. 2
   noun

   The act of saying that something is not true.

   They spoke as if their claims were immune to contradiction.

3. 3
   noun

   A statement that contradicts itself, claiming the same thing is both true and false.

   "I am brave and I am not brave" is a contradiction.

Simplified etymology

Contradiction dates from late Middle English and ultimately combines the idea of speaking “against” with Latin dicere, “to say.”

From Middle English contradiccioun, contradiction, from Old French contradiction, from Latin contrādictiō, from contrādīcō (“speak against”).

Topics

External links

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