contrast

1. 1.

   the opposition or dissimilarity of things that are compared

   “in contrast to”

   “by contrast”

   Synonymsdirect contrast

   Broaderopposition
2. 2.

   the act of distinguishing by comparing differences

   Broadercomparison
3. 3.

   a conceptual separation or distinction

   “there is a narrow line between sanity and insanity”

   Synonymslinedividing linedemarcation

   Broaderdifferentiation

   NarrowerRubicon
4. 4.

   the perceptual effect of the juxtaposition of very different colors

   Broadervisual perception
5. 5.

   the range of optical density and tone on a photographic negative or print (or the extent to which adjacent areas on a television screen differ in brightness)

   Broaderscope

   photography

1. 1.

   put in opposition to show or emphasize differences

   “The middle school teacher contrasted her best student's work with that of her weakest student”

   Broaderdistinguish
2. 2.

   to show differences when compared; be different

   “the students contrast considerably in their artistic abilities”

   Synonymscounterpoint

   Broaderdiffer

   Narroweropposeconflictfoil

Other forms of contrast

plural

contrasts·

past tense

contrasted·

present participle

contrasting·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about contrast

What does contrast mean?

contrast means "the opposition or dissimilarity of things that are compared". That is the primary sense; the word has 7 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in contrast?

contrast has 2 syllables: con-trast. The stress falls on "con". In IPA it is /ˈkɑntɹæst/.

What is another word for contrast?

Close synonyms include direct contrast, line, dividing line, demarcation, counterpoint. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is contrast a common word?

contrast is banded "Familiar" — widely understood, used when the subject calls for it. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.