1
as in rebellion
refusal to obey
cursed the contrariness of her beloved mutt when it refused to come back inside the house
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in opposition
the quality or state of being as different as possible
a contrariness between his professed altruism and his blatant selfishness
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contrariness
Noun
-
Readers meet Anne, who walks out of Eden not out of rebellion but love.—
Maria Williams,
USA Today,
24 Oct. 2025 -
Netanyahu, meanwhile, faces rebellion from right-wing ministers who want to block a path to Palestinian statehood and annex the West Bank.—
Eric Cortellessa,
Time,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Often, one of the pair is more offensive or box-to-box in their profile, with the other being more of a traditional, defensive-minded midfielder whose strengths are to break up opposition attacks.—
Mark Carey,
New York Times,
23 Oct. 2025
-
The measure was adopted along with other items as part of the board's consent agenda with no opposition.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
22 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Smoking that cigarette is his last attempt at defiance.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
20 Oct. 2025
-
But with a ceasefire in place, Hamas quickly moved to quash defiance, aiming to cement the authority denied to them in the nascent agreement.—
Kara Fox,
CNN Money,
19 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Either of these original conditions would compel us to curb our aspirations to self-making, self-saving, and self-liberation as harmful forms of willfulness.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Oct. 2025
-
While this change reduces the explicit admission of willfulness, a narrative is still required.—
Virginia La Torre Jeker,
Forbes.com,
4 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
It’s known to be two-sided but that’s more about having extreme polarity.—
Lisa Stardust,
Vogue,
2 Oct. 2025
-
Reverse is accomplished through polarity change rather than gearing.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
26 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The performance goes from fiery to ineffectual as DiCaprio’s character, Bob, loses his youthful rebelliousness in a haze of pot and resignation.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
26 Sep. 2025
-
The rebelliousness can be witnessed in everything from its ’70s-in-California style to the very naming conventions Mother chooses for its viral products — adored by A-listers like Gigi Hadid, Chrissy Teigen, Millie Bobby Brown, and more.—
Kristina Rutkowski,
Footwear News,
22 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The Israel-Hamas war rattled campuses and spurred disrespect and intolerant behavior on all sides.—
James Druckman,
Mercury News,
17 Oct. 2025
-
The problem isn’t that my girlfriend wouldn’t get to go, but the disrespect and dishonesty of uninviting her out of the blue and trying to cover it up as being a genuine mistake.—
Jordan Greene,
PEOPLE,
14 Oct. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Contrariness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contrariness. Accessed 26 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share