contraire
French, noun/kɔ̃.tʁɛːʁ/
contraire is spelled C-O-N-T-R-A-I-R-E (9 letters) and appears 95 times per million words in written French, the 871st most frequent French word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Contraire is a French masculine noun meaning “opposite” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) defines it as “Concept inverse, logiquement opposé”.
What does contraire mean in English?
adjective
- 1
opposite
- 2
contradictory
- 3
hostile, unfavourable
noun
- 1
masculineopposite
noir est le contraire de blanc
Source: English Wiktionary, French section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How French dictionaries define it
noun: 1. Concept inverse, logiquement opposé.
adjective: 1. Qui est opposé à ; qui est à l'opposé de. 2. Qui est défavorable, hostile ou nuisible. 3. Peu accommodant.
The definition in the French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), in French.
Source: French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of contraire
- contraires plural
Source: English Wiktionary and French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce contraire?
- /kɔ̃.tʁɛːʁ/
- \kɔ̃.tʁɛʁ\
- [kɔ̃.tʁɛʁ]
Sources: English Wiktionary, French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to contraire
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is contraire in French?
contraire appears 95 times per million words in written French.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).