Contra meaning

kŏn'trə
In contrast or opposition to; against.
preposition
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In opposition to something stated or expected; to the contrary.
adverb
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A member of the rebel forces that opposed the leftist government of Nicaragua in the 1980s with the funds and support of the United States government.
noun
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Against; opposite; contrasting.

Contraposition.

prefix
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Lower in pitch.

Contrabassoon.

prefix
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Against.
preposition
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A member of any of the groups which sought to overthrow the Sandinista government in Nicaragua.
noun
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Against, opposite, opposed to, contrary.

Contradict, contraceptive.

affix
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Lower in musical pitch or register.

Contrabassoon.

affix
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Against; in contradiction or opposition to; in answer or reply to. See also precedent.
adjective
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In legal citation, an indication to the reader that the cited authority supports a contrary position.
adjective
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preposition
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To the contrary to something.
adverb
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(business) A deal to swap goods or services.
noun
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(accounting) An entry that cancels another entry.
noun
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(informal) Any of the musical instruments in the contrabass range, e.g. contrabassoon, contrabass clarinet or, especially, double bass.
noun
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Contra dance.
noun
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A member of any of various rightist guerrilla groups violently opposing the socialist Sandinista government of Nicaragua and secretly funded by the United States government in the 1980s.
noun
0
0

Origin of contra

  • < L contra, against < OL *com-tro- (< com-, com- + *-tero-, compar. suffix); designating assoc. of two (opposites)
    From Webster's New World College Dictionary, 5th Edition
  • Spanish short for contrarrevolucionario counterrevolutionary from contrarrevolución counterrevolution contra- contra- (from Latin contrā- contra-) revolución revolution (from Late Latin revolūtiō, revolūtiōn- revolution)
    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
  • Middle English from Latin contrā- from contrā against contra Sense 2, Italian from Latin contrā
    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
  • Latin contrā against kom in Indo-European roots
    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
  • Short for Spanish contrarrevolucionarios (“counter-revolutionaries”).
    From Wiktionary

Contra Sentence Examples

  • The distinction between these two was made emphatic by Aquinas, who is at pains, especially in his treatise Contra Gentiles, to make it plain that each is a distinct fountain of knowledge, but that revelation is the more important of the two.

  • In 1613, at the instigation of Pope Paul V., Suarez wrote a treatise dedicated to the Christian princes of Europe, entitled Defensio catholicae fidei contra anglicanae sectae errores.

  • In the Summa Catholicae Fidei contra Gentiles he shows how a Christian theology is the sum and crown of all science.

  • Contra Faust.

  • supra; contra, Bouix, Inst.

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Words near contra in the Dictionary