Contra definition

kŏntrə
contras
See word origin
Frequency:
In contrast or opposition to; against.
preposition
4
0
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
2
0
In opposition to something stated or expected; to the contrary.
adverb
0
0
Against; opposite; contrasting.

Contraposition.

prefix
0
0
Lower in pitch.

Contrabassoon.

prefix
0
0
Advertisement
Against.
preposition
0
0
A member of any of the groups which sought to overthrow the Sandinista government in Nicaragua.
noun
0
0
Against, opposite, opposed to, contrary.

Contradict, contraceptive.

affix
0
0
Lower in musical pitch or register.

Contrabassoon.

affix
0
0
Against; in contradiction or opposition to; in answer or reply to. See also precedent.
adjective
0
0
Advertisement
In legal citation, an indication to the reader that the cited authority supports a contrary position.
adjective
0
0
preposition
0
0
To the contrary to something.
adverb
0
0
(business) A deal to swap goods or services.
noun
0
0
(accounting) An entry that cancels another entry.
noun
0
0
Advertisement
(informal) Any of the musical instruments in the contrabass range, e.g. contrabassoon, contrabass clarinet or, especially, double bass.
noun
0
0
Contra dance.
noun
0
0
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

Other Word Forms

Noun

Singular:
contra
Plural:
contras

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

  • 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.

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

  • The Confutatio Alcorani, printed at Seville in 1500, at Venice in 1607, adds hardly anything to the sections of the Itinerary devoted to Moslem belief, &c. Ricold's Libellus contra Nationes Orientales and Contra errores Judaeorum have never been printed.

  • His is an argument contra the prohibition of believing whenever the evidence is silent.

More sentences

Related articles

Also Mentioned In

Words near contra in the Dictionary