How to Use contrary in a Sentence

contrary

1 of 2 noun
  • On the contrary, the loss marked the low point of the 49ers’ season.
    Michael Lerseth, San Francisco Chronicle, 18 Sep. 2021
  • On the contrary, Dixon views them as a chance to break out.
    Eric Twardzik, Robb Report, 22 Nov. 2022
  • On the contrary, Harold was still strong in the muscle of joy.
    Nicole Krauss, Harper's Magazine, 24 Nov. 2020
  • To the contrary, our goal is to be a platform for all ideas.
    Drew Broach, NOLA.com, 7 May 2018
  • To the contrary, the two were teammates for two seasons and part of a third.
    Gary Peterson, The Mercury News, 9 July 2019
  • To make a statement to the contrary is a false statement.
    Dylan McGuinness, ExpressNews.com, 18 July 2019
  • To the contrary, people will pay more to wear what works for them.
    Tom Teicholz, Forbes, 19 Mar. 2021
  • On the contrary, the rate of river time is in constant flux.
    Jonathon Keats, Forbes, 31 Aug. 2021
  • On the contrary, most of us love their sweet yet grassy flavor.
    Susan Russo, sandiegouniontribune.com, 2 May 2017
  • On the contrary, Allen will have known this day was coming.
    Zach Osterman, Indianapolis Star, 2 Mar. 2020
  • On the contrary, the whole point is that business on its own can make the world a better place.
    Geoff Colvin, Fortune, 19 Aug. 2020
  • Mike Brown might be right, even as the evidence mounts to the contrary.
    Paul Daugherty, Cincinnati.com, 2 Sep. 2017
  • But, Stover wrote, a search of her phone found evidence to the contrary.
    Monivette Cordeiro, orlandosentinel.com, 1 Apr. 2022
  • On the contrary, for the first time in well over a decade, Brazil looked like a vibrant modern side.
    Jonathan Wilson, SI.com, 7 July 2018
  • On the contrary, the team set scoring records from their opening match.
    Liz Clarke, The Denver Post, 15 Aug. 2019
  • On the contrary, people stopped to listen, or gave him a thumbs up.
    Ann Scott Tyson, The Christian Science Monitor, 25 May 2020
  • Despite the cliché to the contrary, there are plenty of bad questions.
    Marcello Fiocco, The Conversation, 2 Nov. 2020
  • On the contrary — you'll be remembered as a man who stood by change.
    Sydni Ellis, Peoplemag, 12 Oct. 2022
  • To the contrary, the entire court agreed that Congress has the power to renege on treaties.
    WSJ, 25 Apr. 2022
  • And no evidence to the contrary is going to change your mind.
    Brian Straus, SI.com, 30 June 2018
  • On the contrary, it’s very pro-women and pro-women’s rights.
    Kristi Belcamino, Twin Cities, 22 Jan. 2017
  • Despite claims to the contrary, the pandemic is not over.
    Jay Baruch, STAT, 10 Nov. 2022
  • On the contrary, the music was the best critique of the barbarism that surrounded it.
    Adam Kirsch, The New York Review of Books, 10 Feb. 2022
  • Even his own campaign’s polling data to the contrary could not sway him.
    New York Times, 31 Dec. 2020
  • On the contrary, the tide lately has been in the other direction.
    Caleb Crain, The New Yorker, 19 Aug. 2019
  • The school's own report proved it (despite them saying to the contrary).
    Mike Freeman, USA TODAY, 10 Mar. 2021
  • On the contrary, more women will be trapped in poverty.
    Vangela M. Wade, Time, 17 May 2022
  • On the contrary, we as men should be embracing that more.
    Mikelle Street, Teen Vogue, 13 Aug. 2018
  • But so far, crypto price action points to the contrary.
    Dan Runkevicius, Forbes, 13 May 2022
  • The authors do not cite anywhere where Atlas made claims to the contrary.
    Joel M. Zinberg, National Review, 16 Sep. 2020
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contrary

2 of 2 adjective
  • The boat sailed against a contrary wind.
  • We had contrary opinions on the issue.
  • Without contrary evidence, the jury will find her guilty.
  • Contrary weather impeded the rescue efforts.
  • But, contrary to what some may think, wild parsnip is not.
    Donna Vickroy, Daily Southtown, 28 July 2017
  • And contrary, to the post's claim, endowments are taxed.
    Hannah Hudnall, USA TODAY, 28 Sep. 2022
  • Do your own research and your own thinking, and don’t be afraid to have a contrary view.
    Dallas News, 28 Mar. 2021
  • Vendor wars to the contrary, tamales were not solely street food.
    David Reamer, Anchorage Daily News, 7 June 2021
  • There is simply no contrary view of the war to be seen or heard in Russia's mass media.
    Jill Dougherty, CNN, 3 Apr. 2022
  • On the contrary, much of this is domestic and almost all of this is legal.
    Robin Kaiser-Schatzlein, The New Republic, 22 June 2021
  • But those facts have not stopped contrary claims from spreading both on and offline.
    Emma Frances Bloomfield, The Conversation, 17 Mar. 2020
  • Contrary to myth, talking about suicide cannot plant the idea in someone’s head.
    Linda Blackwell Simmons, star-telegram, 23 Aug. 2017
  • It was driven by a very contrary woman, and Mike Tyson was in the passenger seat.
    Pat Myers, Washington Post, 14 July 2022
  • The three-cueing system is one of those contrary practices.
    The Indianapolis Star, 26 July 2023
  • False and misleading narratives to the contrary need to stop.
    Dakin Andone, CNN, 14 Jan. 2021
  • That was the biggest decision, because that was the most contrary.
    Devan Coggan, EW.com, 22 Apr. 2022
  • Your best friend or business partner might refuse to do your bidding, just to be contrary.
    Tarot Astrologers, chicagotribune.com, 16 Aug. 2020
  • Nor does the tape show, contrary to many press reports, that the safety of any cast member was ever in jeopardy.
    Lisa Gutierrez, kansascity, 27 June 2017
  • The expectation—which could be wrong in a state as contrary as New Hampshire—is that Hassan will eke it out in the end.
    Walter Shapiro, The New Republic, 4 Nov. 2022
  • Almost every teen wants to trust adults and tell them the truth; assume that of your stepson, even in the face of contrary evidence.
    Meghan Leahy, Washington Post, 10 May 2023
  • Musk’s claims to the contrary point to an increasingly unstable house of cards.
    David Trainer, Forbes, 27 Jan. 2022
  • On the contrary, many women who moved away from Guet Ndar have become unemployed, no longer able to dry or sell the fish coming in from the beach each day.
    Nick Roll, The Christian Science Monitor, 1 Dec. 2022
  • But there are more than a few areas in which the two men, using the same approaches, reached contrary conclusions.
    Adam Liptak, New York Times, 15 June 2023
  • Contrary to common belief, Lloyd’s isn’t an insurer, or even a company in the usual sense of the word.
    Michelle Weber, Longreads, 1 Aug. 2017
  • While redheads have less melanin in their skin, contrary to popular belief, not all of them have freckles.
    Lauren Valenti, Marie Claire, 31 Mar. 2017
  • Contrary to the old belief that light, colored ink was hard to remove, Dr. Adams assured me that all hues will now disappear.
    Lauren Chan, Glamour, 26 July 2017
  • On the contrary, long nails are trending this winter; a look rarely achieved without enhancement.
    Taylore Glynn, Marie Claire, 10 Dec. 2020
  • But as proof of Bellow’s contrary supremacy the point is not exactly clinching.
    Calum Marsh, The New Republic, 16 Mar. 2018
  • Yet the contrary underdog got the puppy chow and money in a 30-29 last second win for the Washington Football Team.
    Jay Ginsbach, Forbes, 17 Sep. 2021
  • Thomas was unconvinced and said the court would not be so accepting of a contrary assertion by a college.
    Tyler Olson, Fox News, 31 Oct. 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'contrary.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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