contrariwise

English

Etymology

From Middle English contrary-wyse; equivalent to contrary +‎ -wise.

Pronunciation

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Adverb

contrariwise (not comparable)

  1. (literary) In the contrary or opposite way, order, or direction.
    • 1891 January 3, I. Gollancz, “Widishins”, in The Academy, London, page 14, column 3:
      If Burd Ellen had gone “widishins" round the church, she would, I think, have used the best homoeopathic specific against the Elf-King's power; for "to go widishins" was the chief element in elfin practices, and if mortals wished to resist or unspell elf-craft, they, too, had "to go widershins," or they had to repeat the Paternoster backwards, which came to the same thing, or do something else contrariwise.
    • 1955, Philip Larkin, “Absences”, in The Less Deceived:
      Rain patters on a sea that tilts and sighs. / Fast-running floors, collapsing into hollows, / Tower suddenly, spray-haired. Contrariwise, / A wave drops like a wall: another follows, / Wilting and scrambling
  2. (literary) on the other hand

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