contrariety

English

Etymology

From Old (and modern) French contrariété, from late Latin contrarietas, from contrarius, from contra ‘against’. Compare contrary.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /kɒntrəˈraɪəti/

Noun

contrariety (plural contrarieties)

1. Opposition or contrariness; cross-purposes, marked contrast.
   • 1759, Laurence Sterne, The Life & Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, Penguin 2003, page 61:

     This contrariety of humours betwixt my father and my uncle, was the source of many a fraternal squabble.

   • 1883, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island:

     The wind blowing steady and gentle from the south, thee was no contrariety between that and the current, and the billows rose and fell unbroken.

   • 2011, Tim Blanning, "The reinvention of the night", Times Literary Supplement, 21 Sep 2011:

     At the heart of his argument is the contrariety between day and night, light and dark.