contrarious

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /kənˈtrɛriəs/ UK /kənˈtreəriəs/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
opposed, perverse, or inclined to oppose (archaic)

The contrarious old man disputed every word she said.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · opposed, perverse, or... contrary perverse opposed wayward froward contradictory

Opposites

agreeable compliant amenable

Word family

Derived forms contrariouslycontrariousness

Related forms contrary contrariant contrariness contrariwise

Etymology

From Old French contrarios, from Late Latin contrariosus, from Latin contrarius ('opposite'), from contra ('against').

contrarius Latin contra Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives Register & Style

External links

# contrarious

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /kənˈtrɛriəs/
**IPA (UK):** /kənˈtreəriəs/

## Meanings
1. opposed, perverse, or inclined to oppose (archaic)

## Examples
- The contrarious old man disputed every word she said.

## Synonyms
- contrary
- perverse
- opposed
- wayward
- froward
- contradictory

## Antonyms
- agreeable
- compliant
- amenable

## Derived Forms
- contrariously
- contrariousness

## Related Forms
- contrary
- contrariant
- contrariness
- contrariwise

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: contrarius
- Root: contra

## Etymology
From Old French contrarios, from Late Latin contrariosus, from Latin contrarius ('opposite'), from contra ('against').

## AI Etymology
Contrarious is an adjective meaning "opposed, perverse, or inclined to oppose (archaic)". Historically, it is from Old French contrarios, from Late Latin contrariosus, from Latin contrarius ('opposite'), from contra ('against'). The historical chain links Latin contrarius with Latin contra. Close English family members include contrariously, contrariousness, contrary, contrariant, and contrariness. This keeps the modern adjective sense tied to the older forms and language sequence behind it.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives
- Register & Style

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