contradistinction

«contradistinction» in Mova's school dictionary: telling two things apart by showing how they are opposite… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

part of speech

noun (contradistinction — usually uncountable, mostly in «in contradistinction to»)

meaning for a pupil

(formal) Contradistinction is telling two things apart by showing how they are opposite or different. tree →

sense in the lessons

A stiff, formal word used in books and essays, almost always in the phrase «in contradistinction to», which means «as opposed to» or «unlike». In school it may appear in exam texts; in your own writing «unlike» or «in contrast to» is clearer.

examples

• Mammals feed their babies milk, in contradistinction to reptiles, which do not. tree →
• The essay described day, in contradistinction to night. tree →
• Facts, in contradistinction to opinions, can be checked. tree →
• The writer drew a contradistinction between bravery and foolishness. tree →
• Living things, in contradistinction to rocks, grow and reproduce. tree →
• In contradistinction to his noisy brother, Tom was very quiet. tree →

note

Formal and rare. Simpler choices: «unlike», «as opposed to», «in contrast to». Do not confuse it with contradiction (saying the opposite of something).

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «contradistinction» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.