- inconsistent; incompatible
- given to argument and contention: a contradictory person
- (of a pair of statements) unable both to be true or both to be false under the same circumstances
Compare contrary, subcontrary
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
con•tra•dic•to•ry /ˌkɑntrəˈdɪktəri/USA pronunciation adj.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- involving contradiction;
opposing or inconsistent:contradictory opinions.
con•tra•dic•to•ry
(kon′trə dik′tə rē),USA pronunciation adj., n., pl. -ries.
adj.
n.
con′tra•dic′to•ri•ly, adv.
con′tra•dic′to•ri•ness, n.
adj.
- asserting the contrary or opposite;
contradicting;
inconsistent;
logically opposite:contradictory statements. - tending or inclined to contradict.
n.
- Philosophy[Logic.]a proposition so related to a second that it is impossible for both to be true or both to be false.
- Late Latin contrādictōrius, equivalent. to contrādic(ere) (see contradict) + -tōrius -tory1
- Middle English 1350–1400
con′tra•dic′to•ri•ness, n.
- 1. irreconcilable, paradoxical.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
contradictory /ˌkɒntrəˈdɪktərɪ/ adj
'contradictory' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
bull
- conflicting
- consistent
- contrary
- inconsistent
- indirect proof
- necessary
- opposition
- oxymoron
- paradox
- repugnant
- schizoid
- schizophrenia
- schizophrenic
- subcontrary
- amalgam
- ambiguous
- ambitendency
- Catch-22
- cognitive dissonance
- conflict
- contradiction
- contradictious
- contradictive
- dichotomy
- doublethink
- enigma
- Hegelian dialectic
- incompatible
- incongruous
- involve
- irony
- mouth
- presently
- tangle
- self-contradiction