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# contradiction

«contradiction» in Mova's school dictionary: **A situation in which two statements or facts cannot both…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

noun (a contradiction, contradictions; also uncountable)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A situation in which two statements or facts cannot both be true: «There is a contradiction between his two stories». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/contradiction/#m1)

2) Saying the opposite of what someone else has said: «She spoke without contradiction». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/contradiction/#m2)

3) A contradiction in terms: a phrase whose parts seem to oppose each other, like «a quiet shout». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/contradiction/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In maths and logic, a contradiction is a statement that can never be true, like «this number is both odd and even»; «proof by contradiction» shows something is true by showing its opposite leads to nonsense. In stories and detective work, contradictions in a suspect's account give them away. In reading lessons, pupils spot contradictions between texts. Phrases: «a contradiction in terms», «in contradiction to», «proof by contradiction», «without contradiction».

### examples

- There is a contradiction in your story: first you said Monday, then Tuesday. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/contradiction/#x1)
- «Freezing hot» is a contradiction in terms. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/contradiction/#x2)
- The detective noticed a contradiction in the butler's alibi. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/contradiction/#x3)
- In maths we used proof by contradiction to show there is no biggest number. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/contradiction/#x4)
- His actions were in contradiction to his promises. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/contradiction/#x5)
- Saying that all rules must be broken is a contradiction, because that is itself a rule. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/contradiction/#x6)
- The two websites gave answers in direct contradiction. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/contradiction/#x7)
- Soft tones and charming songs reached her ear, as well as harsh sounds and rough words--thoughts and opinions in strange contradiction to each other. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/contradiction/#x8)

### note

Countable (a contradiction, two contradictions). The verb is «contradict» (to say the opposite) and the adjective «contradictory». «Contra» means «against» and «dict» means «say». In maths, if you reach a contradiction, the assumption you began with must be false.

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «contradiction» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/contradiction/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.