au contraire

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au contraire

/əʊ ˈkɒntɹɛː(ɹ)/ UK
/oʊ ˌkɔnˈtɹɛ(ə)ɹ/ US
/oʊ ˌkɑnˈtɹɛ(ə)ɹ/ US
/ɔ-/ nonstandard, uncommon

Where it comes from

Borrowed from French au contraire.

adverb

emphatic, humorous, not comparable, usually On the contrary. Travellers have written and spoken so much of the beauty of this celebrated piece of water, that I expected to be disappointed; but, au contraire, I am almost inclined to write a rhapsody myself.

Translations

Every language

adv on the contrary — see also on the contrary

Español	en contrario, por el contrario, en contra, al contrario
हिन्दी	उल्टे ulṭe
Português	ao contrário, pelo contrário
Français	au contraire
Deutsch	im Gegenteil, au contraire
Italiano	al contrario
Ελληνικά	τουναντίον tounantíon, αντίθετα antítheta
Русский	наоборо́т naoborót
עברית	להיפך

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MLA

"au contraire." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/au%20contraire. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

au contraire. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/au%20contraire

Chicago

"au contraire." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/au%20contraire.

BibTeX

@misc{au_contraire_2026,
  title = {au contraire},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/au%20contraire},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}