contradistinction

English

Etymology

contra- +‎ distinction

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌkɒntɹədɪˈstɪŋkʃn̩/
• Hyphenation: con‧tra‧dis‧tinc‧tion

Noun

contradistinction (plural contradistinctions)

1. Distinction by contrast; the provision of one example against which another example may be defined.
   • 1911: Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary

     Pantheism n

     The doctrine that everything is God, in contradistinction to the doctrine that God is everything.

   We used hamburgers and soda in contradistinction to healthy food.

2. The quality of being contradistinctive.

Usage notes

• Found normally in the phrase in contradistinction to, contradistinction focuses on the contrasting attributes of two similar concepts and may be more emphatic than distinction.

Derived terms

• contradistinctive
• contradistinctively

Related terms

• contradistinguish

Translations

distinction by contrast

• Bulgarian: противопоставяне (bg) n (protivopostavjane)
• Greek: αντιδιαστολή (el) f (antidiastolí)
• Icelandic: til aðgreiningar frá, sem annars konar fyrirbæri en
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Norwegian: kontradistinksjon m
• Swedish: motsats (sv) c

Further reading

• “contradistinction”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “contradistinction”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “contradistinction”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.