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contrast

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contrast

  • /ˈkɒntɹɑːst/ UK
  • /ˈkɒntɹast/ Northern England, Scotland
  • /ˈkɑnt(ʃ)ɹæst/ US
  • /kənˈtɹɑːst/ UK
  • /kənˈtɹast/ Northern England, Scotland
  • /kənˈt(ʃ)ɹæst/ US

Rhymes with -ɑːst

Where it comes from

From French contraster, from Latin contrāstāre (“to resist", "to withstand”), from contrā (“against”) + stō, stāre (“to stand”).

noun contrasts

  1. uncountable The degree of this difference. The red and the orange don't have much contrast between them — I can hardly tell them apart.
  2. countable A control on a television, etc, that adjusts the amount of contrast in the images being displayed. Ohh, you can't fool me. This thing's top of the line! It's got two contrast knobs!
  3. countable A difference between two objects, people or concepts. Israel is a country of many contrasts.
  4. countable Something that is opposite of or strikingly different from something else. Why this denunciation of idolatry at this point? And why are Shabbat and the sanctuary mentioned as contrasts to idol worship?
  5. countable, rhetoric, uncountable Antithesis.
  6. uncountable Contrast medium

verb contrasts · contrasting · contrasted

  1. transitive To set in opposition in order to show the difference or differences between; to counterpoint.
  2. intransitive, often, with with To form a contrast. Foreground and background strongly contrast.

Opposite: liken

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: demarcation, dividing line, line, counterpoint, direct contrast, paradox, antithesis, opposite, contradistinction, contrary, contradiction, difference, opposition, differential, differentiation, trade-off

verb

Opposite: liken

Translations

Every language

noun difference that makes colours more or less distinguishable

Españolcontraste
中文对比度 duìbǐdù
Portuguêscontraste
DeutschKontrast
Italianocontrasto
Românăcontrast
Русскийконтра́ст kontrást

noun degree of this difference

Españolcontraste
Portuguêscontraste
DeutschKontrast
Italianocontrasto
Românăcontrast

noun control on a television, etc

Españolcontraste
Portuguêscontraste
DeutschKontrast
Italianocontrasto

noun difference between two objects, people or concepts

Españolcontraste
Portuguêscontraste
Françaiscontraste
DeutschGegensatz, Kontrast, Unterschied
Italianocontrasto, diversità
עבריתניגוד nigud

verb to set in opposition in order to show the difference or differences between

Portuguêscontrastar
Françaiscontraster
Deutschgegenüberstellen
Ελληνικάαντιπαραβάλλω antiparavállo
Русскийпротивопоставля́ть protivopostavljátʹ, противопоста́вить protivopostávitʹ
עבריתהנגיד hingíd

verb to form a contrast

Españolcontrastar
Françaiscontraster

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Cite this
MLA

"contrast." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/contrast. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

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

Chicago

"contrast." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/contrast.

BibTeX
@misc{contrast_2026,
  title = {contrast},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/contrast},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}