Contradiction
noun
A situation or statement in which two things do not fit together and cannot be true or correct at the same time.
You say you are not rich, yet you have two houses. This is a contradiction
Often appears as...
- a contradiction in terms
- contradiction between
noun
The act of saying something that is opposite or very different in meaning to something else.
His actions are a contradiction to his words
Often appears as...
- contradiction to
- contradiction in
noun
In logic, a contradiction exists when a statement and the negation of the statement are both true.
In the law of non-contradiction, a statement and its negation cannot both be true
Often appears as...
- law of contradiction
- logical contradiction
Usage tips
Academic
noun
A situation or statement in which two things do not fit together and cannot be true or correct at the same time.
You say you are not rich, yet you have two houses. This is a contradiction
Often appears as...
- a contradiction in terms
- contradiction between
noun
The act of saying something that is opposite or very different in meaning to something else.
His actions are a contradiction to his words
Often appears as...
- contradiction to
- contradiction in
noun
In logic, a contradiction exists when a statement and the negation of the statement are both true.
In the law of non-contradiction, a statement and its negation cannot both be true
Often appears as...
- law of contradiction
- logical contradiction
Usage tips
Academic
Definition 1 of 3
Pro Tip 1/3Mutual Exclusivity
The identified contradiction means two things can't coexist; they cancel each other out.
Having both silence and a rock concert in the same room is a contradiction.
Pro Tip 2/3Spotting Paradoxes
Contradictions can signal a paradox where statements oppose, leading to a deeper truth or complexity.
Saying 'I always lie' is a contradiction, hinting at a paradox.
Pro Tip 3/3Debating Tool
Identify contradictions in arguments to challenge and dissect the opponent's logic or standpoint.
Claiming to be an environmentalist but driving a gas-guzzler is a contradiction worth debating.
Pro Tip 1/3Mutual Exclusivity
The identified contradiction means two things can't coexist; they cancel each other out.
Having both silence and a rock concert in the same room is a contradiction.
Pro Tip 2/3Spotting Paradoxes
Contradictions can signal a paradox where statements oppose, leading to a deeper truth or complexity.
Saying 'I always lie' is a contradiction, hinting at a paradox.
Pro Tip 3/3Debating Tool
Identify contradictions in arguments to challenge and dissect the opponent's logic or standpoint.
Claiming to be an environmentalist but driving a gas-guzzler is a contradiction worth debating.
Pro Tip 1/3Mutual Exclusivity
The identified contradiction means two things can't coexist; they cancel each other out.
Having both silence and a rock concert in the same room is a contradiction.
Pro Tip 2/3Spotting Paradoxes
Contradictions can signal a paradox where statements oppose, leading to a deeper truth or complexity.
Saying 'I always lie' is a contradiction, hinting at a paradox.
Pro Tip 3/3Debating Tool
Identify contradictions in arguments to challenge and dissect the opponent's logic or standpoint.
Claiming to be an environmentalist but driving a gas-guzzler is a contradiction worth debating.
Compare with
anomalyantithesisconflictualconsistencydiscrepancydivergenceoppositionparadox
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Video examples
Storytellers Summit Day...
and I've heard it different ways that on the future is the past but yet the past is the future I think I was talking to someone last night and my doings gonna block it out but they said and it's but we're always in contradiction we're in contradictions as to what we think so then you have this and it's
Video examples
What is abstract...
They destroyed conventions of painting that had stood for centuries, forcing the art world to rethink them entirely. But one last reason why Jackson Pollock's work has stayed prominent stems from the specific objects he made, which embody fascinating contradictions.
Video examples
Thinking your way out of...
genuinely find useful that last part is really important because it speaks to a contradiction in impostor logic because when you think about it what we're really saying is other people are so stupid they don't realize we're incompetent to imagine if you'd come up
Video examples
A theory of everything PIPE...
It doesn't make quite as much money as body humor I'm sure -- but nevertheless, what makes us treasure you and adore you. There's also a contradiction in rationality in this country though, which is, as much as we revere the head, we are very anti-intellectual.
Video examples
Tavi Gevinson: A teen...
that premiers next month, "Girls," she said she wanted to start it because she felt that every woman she knew was just a bundle of contradictions, and that feels accurate for all people, but you don't see women represented like that as much. Congrats, guys.
Video examples
I grew up in the...
The truth is that the care shown to me by these strangers on the internet was itself a contradiction. It was growing evidence that people on the other side were not the demons I'd been led to believe. These realizations were life-altering.
Video examples
"Everything happens for...
I see that the world is jolted by events that are wonderful and terrible, gorgeous and tragic. I can't reconcile the contradiction, except that I am beginning to believe that these opposites do not cancel each other out.
Video examples
Einstein's miracle year...
the clouds parted. Einstein realized that the contradiction could be resolved if it was the speed of light that remained constant, regardless of reference frame, while both time and space were relative to the observer.
Video examples
Into Darkness by Bridget...
surface instead to cerulean whirlwind a world of high winds and low liquids 14 nymph named moons keeping watch and then the last or perhaps the first please how you are a cacophony of contradiction
Video examples
Cell membranes are way...
Cell membranes are structures of contradictions. These oily films are hundreds of times thinner than a strand of spider silk, yet strong enough to protect the delicate contents of
Video examples
Storytellers Summit Day...
and I've heard it different ways that on the future is the past but yet the past is the future I think I was talking to someone last night and my doings gonna block it out but they said and it's but we're always in contradiction we're in contradictions as to what we think so then you have this and it's
Video examples
What is abstract...
They destroyed conventions of painting that had stood for centuries, forcing the art world to rethink them entirely. But one last reason why Jackson Pollock's work has stayed prominent stems from the specific objects he made, which embody fascinating contradictions.
Video examples
Thinking your way out of...
genuinely find useful that last part is really important because it speaks to a contradiction in impostor logic because when you think about it what we're really saying is other people are so stupid they don't realize we're incompetent to imagine if you'd come up
Video examples
A theory of everything PIPE...
It doesn't make quite as much money as body humor I'm sure -- but nevertheless, what makes us treasure you and adore you. There's also a contradiction in rationality in this country though, which is, as much as we revere the head, we are very anti-intellectual.
Video examples
Tavi Gevinson: A teen...
that premiers next month, "Girls," she said she wanted to start it because she felt that every woman she knew was just a bundle of contradictions, and that feels accurate for all people, but you don't see women represented like that as much. Congrats, guys.
Video examples
I grew up in the...
The truth is that the care shown to me by these strangers on the internet was itself a contradiction. It was growing evidence that people on the other side were not the demons I'd been led to believe. These realizations were life-altering.
Video examples
"Everything happens for...
I see that the world is jolted by events that are wonderful and terrible, gorgeous and tragic. I can't reconcile the contradiction, except that I am beginning to believe that these opposites do not cancel each other out.
Video examples
Einstein's miracle year...
the clouds parted. Einstein realized that the contradiction could be resolved if it was the speed of light that remained constant, regardless of reference frame, while both time and space were relative to the observer.
Video examples
Into Darkness by Bridget...
surface instead to cerulean whirlwind a world of high winds and low liquids 14 nymph named moons keeping watch and then the last or perhaps the first please how you are a cacophony of contradiction
Video examples
Cell membranes are way...
Cell membranes are structures of contradictions. These oily films are hundreds of times thinner than a strand of spider silk, yet strong enough to protect the delicate contents of
Example 1 of 10
Quote examples
Paulo Coelho
Brazilian Novelist
Jesus lived a life that was full of joy and contradictions and fights, you know? If they were to paint a picture of Jesus without contradictions, the gospels would be fake, but the contradictions are a sign of authenticity.
Quote examples
Robert Redford
American Actor
Part of me is drawn to the nature of sadness because I think life is sad, and sadness is not something that should be avoided or denied. It's a fact of life, like contradictions are.
Quote examples
Douglas Adams
English Writer
He hoped and prayed that there wasn't an afterlife. Then he realized there was a contradiction involved here and merely hoped that there wasn't an afterlife.
Quote examples
Thomas Merton
American Author
The very contradictions in my life are in some ways signs of God's mercy to me.
Quote examples
William Blake
English Poet
Do what you will, this world's a fiction and is made up of contradiction.
Quote examples
Georges Bataille
French Writer
I believe that truth has only one face: that of a violent contradiction.
Quote examples
Tim Blake Nelson
American Director
Really, life is full of contradictions. Life is messy.
Quote examples
Rebecca Hall
English Actress
I always look for contradiction in a character.
Quote examples
Manmohan Singh
Indian Statesman
Life is never free of contradictions.
Quote examples
Ruby Dee
American Actress
Life can't die. It's a contradiction.
Quote examples
Paulo Coelho
Brazilian Novelist
Jesus lived a life that was full of joy and contradictions and fights, you know? If they were to paint a picture of Jesus without contradictions, the gospels would be fake, but the contradictions are a sign of authenticity.
Quote examples
Robert Redford
American Actor
Part of me is drawn to the nature of sadness because I think life is sad, and sadness is not something that should be avoided or denied. It's a fact of life, like contradictions are.
Quote examples
Douglas Adams
English Writer
He hoped and prayed that there wasn't an afterlife. Then he realized there was a contradiction involved here and merely hoped that there wasn't an afterlife.
Quote examples
Thomas Merton
American Author
The very contradictions in my life are in some ways signs of God's mercy to me.
Quote examples
William Blake
English Poet
Do what you will, this world's a fiction and is made up of contradiction.
Quote examples
Georges Bataille
French Writer
I believe that truth has only one face: that of a violent contradiction.
Quote examples
Tim Blake Nelson
American Director
Really, life is full of contradictions. Life is messy.
Quote examples
Rebecca Hall
English Actress
I always look for contradiction in a character.
Quote examples
Manmohan Singh
Indian Statesman
Life is never free of contradictions.
Quote examples
Ruby Dee
American Actress
Life can't die. It's a contradiction.
Example 1 of 10
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