CONTRAST • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Contrast

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/kˈɑntræst/ /kəntrˈæst/ Listen

noun

Contrast n.

The act of contrasting, or the state of being contrasted; comparison by contrariety of qualities. "place the prospect of the soul In sober contrast with reality."

Opposition or dissimilitude of things or qualities; unlikeness, esp. as shown by juxtaposition or comparison. "The contrasts and resemblances of the seasons."

(Fine Arts) The opposition of varied forms, colors, etc., which by such juxtaposition more vividly express each other's peculiarities.

verb

Contrast v. t.

To set in opposition, or over against, in order to show the differences between, or the comparative excellences and defects of; to compare by difference or contrariety of qualities; as, to contrast the present with the past.

(Fine Arts) To give greater effect to, as to a figure or other object, by putting it in some relation of opposition to another figure or object. "the figures of the groups must not be all on side... but must contrast each other by their several position."

Contrast v. i. (past & past part. contrasted; pres. part. contrasting) To stand in opposition; to exhibit difference, unlikeness, or opposition of qualities. "The joints which divide the sandstone contrast finely with the divisional planes which separate the basalt into pillars."

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Etymology of 'Contrast'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Contrast" Quotes from Famous Books

... gentle, reassuring tone of this letter is almost like that of a mother encouraging a dear but weak-spirited child to make his own decisions and to abide by them. Catherine's sweetness of nature preserves her from viewing Gregory with any tinge of contempt; but we cannot help feeling the contrast between this frail woman of heroic soul and the hesitating figure of ...

— Letters of Catherine Benincasa • Catherine Benincasa

... tragedy of the cross. As we enter then to-day on the anniversary of the last week of the life of Jesus, the week before Easter Sunday, let us glance at some of the hurrying events. And for today consider the contrast which presents itself between the entrance of Jesus at Jerusalem on Sunday morning, and his return to the city by the same road on this Monday {149} morning of his last week. Yesterday he came over the brow of the Mount of Olives, surrounded ...

— Mornings in the College Chapel - Short Addresses to Young Men on Personal Religion • Francis Greenwood Peabody

... and fixed her eyes upon him, and they held him so that he could not stir. Then, in strange contrast to the hissing whisper, there broke from her lips a ringing and unearthly laugh that chilled him to the marrow. So ...

— Dawn • H. Rider Haggard

... wolves, we must needs keep shepherds' dogs. But in spite of everything, the best that can be said in favor of war is, that it remains a sad but inevitable necessity, and that to get rid of it, more is wanting than the wish. What a contrast to labor—that contest of Man with Nature;—that merciful and fruitful war, where victories are not estimated like other victories, by the number of the slain, but which, on the contrary, scatters fresh life around it as it spreads; fresh life in the laborer himself, by ...

— The History of a Mouthful of Bread - And its effect on the organization of men and animals • Jean Mace

... courage; but you are never more ridiculous than in these would-be grand bursts of feeling, when you contrast the little you can embrace with the monstrous and great which are so high above you. Thus may the worm measure the trampling elephant, and reckon his weight in the moment when it dies beneath ...

— Faustus - his Life, Death, and Doom • Friedrich Maximilian von Klinger

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