contradictory

[kon-truh-dik-tuh-ree] /ˌkɒn trəˈdɪk tə ri/
adjective
1.
asserting the contrary or opposite; contradicting; inconsistent; logically opposite:
contradictory statements.
2.
tending or inclined to contradict.
noun, plural contradictories.
3.
Logic. a proposition so related to a second that it is impossible for both to be true or both to be false.
Origin
1350-1400; Middle English < Late Latin contrādictōrius, equivalent to contrādic(ere) (see contradict) + -tōrius -tory1
Related forms
contradictorily, adverb
contradictoriness, noun
intercontradictory, adjective
noncontradictory, adjective, noun, plural noncontradictories.
uncontradictory, adjective
Synonyms
1. irreconcilable, paradoxical.
Examples from the web for contradictory
  • Malaria is a confounding disease-often, it seems, contradictory to logic.
  • Genius is the ability to hold two contradictory truths in the mind at the same time without going crazy.
  • It was because of the peculiarly contradictory way in which the capitalist system generated its fabulous wealth.
  • They present almost comically contradictory portraits.
  • Both organizations have historically stated that they consider their work complementary, not contradictory.
  • What may seem to us contradictory in their ways is natural to them.
  • Imagine straight-out descriptions instead of mythic narratives, parts diagrams rather than contradictory explanations.
  • Some might call this combination paradoxical, even contradictory.
  • They don't make much sense because they are contradictory.
  • For one thing, the whole idea is self-contradictory.
British Dictionary definitions for contradictory

contradictory

/ˌkɒntrəˈdɪktərɪ/
adjective
1.
inconsistent; incompatible
2.
given to argument and contention: a contradictory person
3.
(logic) (of a pair of statements) unable both to be true or both to be false under the same circumstances Compare contrary (sense 5), subcontrary (sense 1)
noun (pl) -ries
4.
(logic) a statement that cannot be true when a given statement is true or false when it is false
Derived Forms
contradictorily, adverb
contradictoriness, noun
Word Origin and History for contradictory
adj.

1530s, "mutually opposed, at variance," from Late Latin contradictorius "containing a contradiction or objection," from contradictus, past participle of contradicere (see contradiction). Meaning "fond of contradicting" is from 1891. Used earlier as a noun (late 14c.).