Etymology From French contraster, from Latin contrāstāre (“to resist", "to withstand”), from contrā (“against”) + stō, stāre (“to stand”).
› A difference in lightness, brightness or hue…
1
The degree of this difference.
The red and the orange don't have much contrast between them — I can hardly tell them apart.
2
A control on a television, etc, that adjusts the amount of contrast in the images being displayed.
Ohh, you can't fool me. This thing's top of the line! It's got two contrast knobs!2009 May 4, Michael Chapman; Matthew Chapman, “Hremail #7”, in Homestar Runner, spoken by Strong Bad (Matthew Chapman):
3
A difference between two objects, people or concepts.
Israel is a country of many contrasts.
The colonel and his sponsor made a queer contrast: Greystone [the sponsor] long and stringy, with a face that seemed as if a cold wind was eternally playing on it.1908, W[illiam] B[lair] M[orton] Ferguson, chapter I, in Zollenstein, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
1 more example
... there is no quality in this world that is not what it is merely by contrast.1851, Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chapter 11:
4
Something that is opposite of or strikingly different from something else.
Why this denunciation of idolatry at this point? And why are Shabbat and the sanctuary mentioned as contrasts to idol worship?2001, David L. Lieber, Jules Harlow, Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, page 746:
Etymology From French contraster, from Latin contrāstāre (“to resist", "to withstand”), from contrā (“against”) + stō, stāre (“to stand”).
1
To set in opposition in order to show the difference or differences between; to counterpoint.
2
Often, With with To form a contrast.
Foreground and background strongly contrast.
The color of her dress contrasts very nicely with the black scarf around her neck.
1 more example
The joints which divide the sandstone contrast finely with the divisional planes which separate the basalt into pillars.1845, Charles Lyell, Lyell's Travels in North America: