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July 15, 2020 Word of the Day

contrast /ˈkɑːnˌtræst/ noun
contrast
/ˈkɑːnˌtræst/
noun

plural contrasts

The black pants against the white shirts and background make this a high-contrast photo.
The black pants against the white shirts and background make this a high-contrast photo.
Definition of CONTRAST

1 [count] : something that is different from another thing — + to

  • Today's weather is quite a contrast to yesterday's. [=today's weather is very different from yesterday's weather]

2 : a difference between people or things that are being compared

[count]

  • I observed an interesting contrast in/between the teaching styles of the two women.

  • We talked about the contrasts between his early books and his later books. [=the ways in which his early and later books are different]

[noncount]

  • His comments were in stark/marked/sharp contrast with/to his earlier statements. [=his comments were very different from his earlier statements]

3 [noncount] : the act of comparing people or things to show the differences between them

  • Careful contrast of the twins shows some differences.

  • In contrast to/with last year's profits, the company is not doing very well.

  • The queen's wit and humor made the prince seem dull by contrast.

  • They spent millions of dollars on advertising. By way of contrast, our small company spent under 5,000 dollars.

4 [noncount] : the difference between the dark and light parts of a painting or photograph

  • a painting with a lot of contrast

  • She was wearing a black dress, so the photographer suggested using a white background for contrast.

contrasting adjective [more contrasting; most contrasting]

  • They have very contrasting [=different] styles.

contrastive /kənˈtræstɪv/ adjective, formal [more contrastive; most contrastive]

  • contrastive styles

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