Contrastive (Adjective)

Meaning ¹

Of words so related that one contrasts with the other; "`rich' and `hard-up' are contrastive terms".

Classification

All adjective clusters.

Examples

• The artist's use of light and dark colors created a striking contrastive effect in the painting.
• The researcher used contrastive analysis to identify the differences between the two languages.
• The politician's words were contrastive to her actions, revealing her hypocrisy.
• The contrastive elements of the poem highlighted the tension between love and hate.
• The contrastive terms "freedom" and "slavery" were used to describe the two opposing ideologies.

Synonyms

• Incompatible

Related Words

• Contrast (verb)

Meaning ²

Strikingly different; tending to contrast; "contrasting (or contrastive) colors".

Classification

All adjective clusters.

Examples

• The bold stripes of the dress were made more visible by the contrastive solid-colored jacket she wore over it.
• In this contrastive style, light and dark elements were placed side by side to create visual tension.
• To draw attention to the center of the room, the interior designer used a bright yellow that served as a strikingly contrastive element amidst the predominantly beige and white hues.
• Researchers applied contrastive techniques in studying dialects of two communities separated by language as well as distance.
• As she organized the materials on her table, it became evident that using papers in two different contrastive textures allowed the notes and worksheets to visually pop from each other.

Synonyms

• Contrasting

Related Words

• Contrast (verb)

Meaning ³

Syntactically establishing a relation of contrast between sentences or elements of a sentence; "disjunctive conjunctions like `but', `or', or `though' serve a contrastive function".

Classification

All adjective clusters.

Examples

• The word "however" has a contrastive function in this sentence, indicating a difference between the two clauses.
• In linguistics, contrastive conjunctions are used to connect words or phrases that convey opposite meanings.
• The use of the word "on the other hand" serves a contrastive purpose, highlighting the difference between the two arguments.
• The contrastive adverb "instead" indicates that the second action replaces the first one.
• The sentence "I wanted to go to the beach, but it was raining" illustrates a contrastive relationship between the two clauses.