contrariwise

C2+ Topic:Space, Position & Direction

US /ˈkɑntrɛriˌwaɪz/ UK /ˈkɒntrəriwaɪz/ See IPA manual

adv

Meanings

1

adv
on the contrary; in the opposite way

I expected praise; contrariwise, the critics tore the book apart.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adv · on the contrary; in the... conversely contrarilyoppositelyinverselyreversely

Opposites

likewise similarly

Word family

Related forms contrary contrarily contrariness contrariant

Etymology

From contrary (from Latin contrarius 'opposite', from contra 'against') plus -wise ('in the manner of', from Old English wise 'manner, way').

contrarius Latin wīse Old English

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Topics

Space, Position & Direction Word Formation & Derivatives

# contrariwise

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adv
**IPA (US):** ˈkɑntrɛriˌwaɪz
**IPA (UK):** ˈkɒntrəriwaɪz

## Meanings
1. on the contrary; in the opposite way

## Examples
- I expected praise; contrariwise, the critics tore the book apart.

## Synonyms
- conversely
- contrarily
- oppositely
- inversely
- reversely

## Antonyms
- likewise
- similarly

## Related Forms
- contrary
- contrarily
- contrariness
- contrariant

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

## Etymology
From contrary (from Latin contrarius 'opposite', from contra 'against') plus -wise ('in the manner of', from Old English wise 'manner, way').

## AI Etymology
Contrariwise is from contrary (from Latin contrarius 'opposite', from contra 'against') plus -wise ('in the manner of', from Old English wise 'manner, way'). The ancestry passes through Latin contrarius and Old English wīse. The prefix contra contributes the sense of opposition or againstness, helping to explain the word's surface structure. In present use as an adverb, it means "on the contrary; in the opposite way", keeping the historical formation close to the word's ordinary semantic work. Related words include contrary, contrarily, contrariness, and contrariant.

## Topics
- Space, Position & Direction
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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contrariwise

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