contra-

prefix

"contra" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“contra-” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a prefix. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Against; in opposition to.

Corpus desk

Index EN-contra · contra- · English

contra- · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "C" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for contra-
PropertyValue
Headwordcontra-
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechPrefix
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “contra-” in English

contra-sits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

contra- is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as aprefix. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Against; in opposition to.".

Zero misspellings are on record for contra- in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin contrā (“against”). Doublet of counter-. The correct English form is contra-, spelled C-O-N-T-R-A--.

Definition

  1. 1
    Against; in opposition to.

Etymology

From Latin contrā (“against”). Doublet of counter-.

Synonyms

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "contra-"?
"contra-" is spelled C-O-N-T-R-A--.
What does "contra-" mean?
As a prefix, "contra-" means: Against; in opposition to.
What is the origin of the word "contra-"?
From Latin contrā (“against”). Doublet of counter-. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list