n. 1. a. The act or an instance of contradicting: the witness's contradiction of other testimony. b. The state of being contradicted: a supervisor who cannot tolerate contradiction from any subordinate. 2. a. An inconsistency or discrepancy: "Surprisingly few people saw a contradiction between freedom for whites and bondage for slaves" (Adam Hochschild). b. Inconsistency; discrepancy: practices that are in contradiction to human rights. 3. One that contains elements that oppose or conflict with one another: The phrase "an unmarried husband" is a contradiction in terms. |
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