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contra

prep, adv, noun and 1 more — 10 senses

contra

prepalso spelled Contra

UK /ˈkɒntɹə/ · US /ˈkɑntɹə/

Etymology Ultimately from Latin contrā.

1

Against; contrary or opposed to; in opposition or contrast to.

Synonyms
against, anti
Antonyms
for, pro
Related terms
contra-, contra proferentem, per contra, semen contra

contra

adv

Etymology Ultimately from Latin contrā.

1

Contrary to something.

  • […] it is useless to pray “Thy kingdom come” and vote contra or stay away from the polls; […]1893 November 30, “The W.C.T.U. Convention. Interesting Reports Considered in Relation to the Several Departments of the Work. Suggested Lines of Development—Programme for the Closing Day.”, in The Daily Colonist, volume LXX, number 148, Victoria, B.C., page 3, column 1:

contra

noun

Etymology Ultimately from Latin contrā.

1

Business A deal to swap goods or services.

2

Government, Politics Derogatory A conservative; originally tied to Nicaraguan counter-revolutionaries.

3

Accounting, Business, Finance Often An entry (or account) that cancels another entry (or account).

  • a contra position; a contra entry
  • The sum for each contra account is shown in the last column.
4

Entertainment, Lifestyle, Music Informal Any of the musical instruments in the contrabass range, e.g. contrabassoon, contrabass clarinet or, especially, double bass.

5

Dance, Dancing, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports A contra dance.

6

Dance, Dancing, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports New England, US, Obsolete A country dance.

  • Folk histories record that contras were gradually displaced by the introduction of the quadrille and the new couple dances.2001, Ellen Koskoff, editor, The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music: North America, Garland Publishing, page 232:
Derived terms
anticontra

contra

verb

Etymology Ultimately from Latin contrā.

1

Accounting, Business, Finance No past, No present participle, Participle, Past To undo; to reverse.

  • to contra a position (an entry)

Contra

noun

Etymology Short for Spanish contrarrevolucionarios (“counter-revolutionaries”).

1

A member of any of various rightist guerrilla groups violently opposing the socialist Sandinista government of Nicaragua and secretly funded by the United States government in the 1980s.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — authors: page histories for contra and Contra.