con-tra-flow /'kDntraflao; NAmE 'kaintrafloo/ noun (BrE) a system that is used when one half of a large road is closed for repairs, and the traffic going in both directions has to use the other half (

04 (ft ) “illM fo] 7f: A contraflow system is in operation on this section of the motorway,

con tra indi cate /.knntra'indikeit; NAmE ,ka:n-/ verb [VN] (medical E) if a drug or treatment is contraindi­cated, there is a medical reason why it should not be used in a particular situation       ) : This

drug is contraindicated in patients with asthma. MW&3

con tra indi ca tion /.kDntra.indi'keiJn; NAmE ,ka:n-/ noun (medical E) a possible reason for not giving sb a particular drug or medical treatment (

)«(mm)

contralto /kan'traeltau; NAmE -tou/ noun (pi. -os)

= ALTO

con trap tion /kan'traepjn/ noun a machine or piece of equipment that looks strange #(Hi#1M^ S: She showed us a strange contraption that looked like a satellite dish.    WTM

con tra pun tal /.kpntra'pAntl; NAmE ,ka:n-/ adj. (music W) having two or more tunes played together to form a whole ^ ®  JtiSW&fHl — see also counter­

point

con trari-wise /kan'treariwaiz; NAmE 'kaintrer-/ adv. (formal) 1 used at the beginnirr\ofe a sentence or clause to introduce a contrast ( H if *fj tUi 41 ft Xd’ tfc ) 40 lx,    Affi 2 in the opposite way lM40Jx

A A : It worked contrariwise—first you dialled the number, then you put the money in.

con-trary1 /'kDntrari; NAmE 'kaintreri/ adj., noun — see

also CONTRARY2

m adj. 1 ~ to sth different from sth; against sth W;    Contrary to popular belief,

many cats dislike milk. M#il1r& 40k,

7&4p$}o 0 The government has decided that the publica­tion of the report would be ‘contrary to the public inter­est\         o

2 [only before noun] completely different in nature or direction ( £ttMAfa± )

H771 opposite : contrary advice/opinions/arguments

;rc^40ix.$Ji!i$C /J$LM / o The contrary view is that prison provides an excellent education—in crime. 7

noun the contrary [sing.] the opposite fact, event or situation 40 S 64 #^5 (     If R ) : In the end the

contrary was proved true: he was innocent and she was guilty.

IP o IT»nn on the 'contrary used to introduce a state­ment that says the opposite of the last one A fit 40 ix; fntn40ix: ‘It must have been terrible.’ ‘On the contrary, I enjoyed every minute.’ “$$ —          ” “f^fe

40      .quite the 'contrary used to

emphasize that the opposite of what has been said is true to fp 40 ix; IE 40 it: I don’t find him funny at all Quite the contrary. IE40&,          Rf^o

to the 'contrary showing or proving the opposite 40Jx W ; 40 lx. itil: Show me some evidence to the contrary (= proving that sth is not true). *n-flc#|rA'ft£>40lx IE Hi BG o 0 I will expect to see you on Sunday unless I hear anything to the contrary (= that you are not coming).     l&C«7^7o

con-trary2 /kan'treari; NAmE -'treri/ adj. (formal, disap­proving) (usually of children ii #■ 4h ft W.) behaving badly; choosing to do or say the opposite of what is expected     She

was such a contrary child—it was impossible to please her.    —see also

contrary1 ► con-trar-ily adv. con-trari-ness noun [U]

con trast On noun, verb

m noun /’kDntraist; NAmE 'kaintraest/ 1 [C, U] ~ (between A and B) | ~ (to/with sb/sth) a difference between two or more people or things that you can see clearly when

433

they are compared or put close together; the fact of comparing two or more things in order to show the differences between them B0 & $ H #M t£; A M: There is an obvious contrast between the cultures of East and West. JjXikZmft# # W S Wi#. o The company lost $7 million this quarter in contrast to a profit of $6.2 million a year earlier.

7 700 77 A, PAAM 620 Tff jfcfl]#fl!&7*fJlHo o When you look at their new system, ours seems very old-fashioned by contrast. # — # life CW4 §r fk     ft &

# Cl   10 it# To O The situation when we

arrived was in marked contrast to the news reports. IfeffJSIliio to show a sharp/stark/striking contrast with sth HJJ /10 & / & H M tt 0 The poverty of her childhood stands in total contrast to her life in Hollywood. M 31 $t

OA

wool jacket complements the silk trousers and provides an interesting contrast in texture. A14 i: A K JITi W, o Careful contrast of the two plans shows some important differences. tEMTi+J&fBW 2 [c] ~ (to sb/sth)

a person or thing that is clearly different from sb/sth else       ) : The work you did today

is quite a contrast to (= very much better/worse than) what you did last week.

3 [U] differences in colour or in light and dark, used in photographs and paintings to create a special effect (        The artist’s

use of contrast is masterly.      ife$3 7

X4 tt o 4 [U] the amount of difference between light and dark in a picture on a television screen ( AMP# Jx.H: Use this button to adjust

the contrast.

verb /kan'traist; NAmE -'traest/ 1 [VN] ~ (A and/with B) to compare two things in order to show the differences between them A tt; AM: It is interesting to contrast the British legal system with the American one. IE A HI (ft ££$]If lt m       IjltbIBIII. o The poem contrasts

youth and age. j&Mif ^ tt 7        % A0 2 [V] - (with

sth) to show a clear difference when close together or when compared (

A tb : Her actions contrasted sharply with her promises. jfe#j fj $% MIKJ ^          % & j^0 0 Her actions

and her promises contrasted sharply.

con trast ing O-w /kan'traistirj; NAmE -'trees-/ adj. [usually before noun]

very different in style, colour or attitude (     M

) H740|W]W? 30#'^: bright, contrasting colours 0 The book explores contrasting

views of the poet’s early work. ifc45 ^iTj‘A<fl7f:fS.ff i#A

con-trast-ive /kan'traistiv; NAmE -'traest-/ adj. (linguistics iUlT) showing the differences between languages tt®F fUfo -. a contrastive analysis of British and Austra­lian English

con-tra-vene /.kDntra'virn; NAmE ,kct:n-/ verb [VN]

(formal) to do sth that is not allowed by a law or rule ££ 4E, ) BOZl INFRINGE: The company

was found guilty of contravening safety regulations. 3P it & tfc #J ii S. 7 ^     ^ ^!l o con tra ven tion

/.knntra'venjn; NAmE ,ka:n-/ noun [U, C] HTH in­fringement : These actions are in contravention of European law. &m

con-tre-tenips /'kontratn; NAmE 'karntrata:/ noun {pi. eon-tre-temps) (from French, formal or humorous) an unfortunate event or embarrassing disagreement with another person  ; 4>Aj®ii&t)iM

con trib ute /kan'tribjuit; BrE also 'knntribjurt/ verb

1 ~ (sth) (to/towards sth) to give sth, especially money or goods, to help sb/sth      J§Jff (        ) ; &

fil]: [VN] We contributed £5 000 to the earthquake fund, mi7 5 000 ^mo O M Would you like to contribute to our collection? ifc M M. in $c Cl 67 # H H Wt nf ? 0 Do you wish to contribute?