contradict

contradict — verb

1. For a person: to state that another person's claim is not true, typically by off

1.verbtransitive / intransitiveB2
Definition

For a person: to state that another person's claim is not true, typically by offering a different opinion. For facts or statements: to show such strong differences that both cannot be correct.

Example

Maeve contradicted her brother when he claimed the restaurant was closed on Sundays.

The witness's statement was contradicted by security camera footage.

passive: be contradicted by [evidence]

Common collocations
  • directly contradict
  • flatly contradict
  • completely contradict
  • contradict each other
  • contradict oneself
Synonyms
  • deny

    Stronger focus on refusing to accept a claim; less about offering a counter-position.

  • refute

    More formal; implies providing evidence or reasoning that proves something wrong.

  • dispute

    Suggests arguing against a claim but may stop short of outright denial.

  • conflict with

    Used only for facts or statements; a less confrontational alternative to 'contradict'.

Antonyms
  • agree with

    For facts or statements being consistent with each other.

  • confirm

    To support rather than deny what someone has said.

  • corroborate

    Formal; to provide supporting evidence for a statement or claim.

Grammar Patterns

contradict + noun phrase (person, statement, or claim)

contradict + each other / oneself

Usage Note

Subject can be either a person (meaning 'to say the opposite') or a fact/statement (meaning 'to be in conflict with'). When the subject is a person, the object is typically the person whose claim is being denied. This sense does not take a preposition — 'contradict someone' (not 'contradict against someone').

Common Mistakes

She contradicted against his statement.
She contradicted his statement.
'contradict' is a transitive verb and does not need a preposition.
His actions contradicted with his words.
His actions contradicted his words.
'contradict' takes a direct object without 'with'.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

All four alternatives involve rejecting or opposing something, but differ in who or what does the opposing and how strongly. 'deny' focuses on refusing to accept a claim as true — it does not require offering a counter-position ('The CEO denied the rumour without giving an alternative explanation'). 'refute' is more formal and implies providing evidence that proves something wrong, a stronger claim than 'contradict' ('The study refutes the theory with new data'). 'dispute' suggests questioning or arguing against a claim but may stop short of outright denial ('Scholars dispute the date of the manuscript'). 'contradict' is the only word that applies to both people ('He contradicted me') and facts ('The data contradict the hypothesis'). For factual inconsistency, 'conflict with' is a less confrontational alternative: 'Her account conflicts with the official report' sounds more neutral than 'contradicts'.

deny ↗refutedispute ↗conflict with

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • contradict each other
  • contradict oneself

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

The word 'contradict' comes from Latin roots: 'contra-' meaning 'against' and 'dicere' meaning 'to speak'. So it literally meant 'to speak against' someone or something. It entered English from French in the late 1500s and originally carried a strong sense of verbal opposition before extending to factual inconsistency.