'To the contrary' definitions:
Definition of 'to the contrary'
(from WordNet)
adverb
Contrary to expectations; "he didn't stay home; on the contrary, he went out with his friends" [syn: contrarily, to the contrary, contrariwise, on the contrary]
Definition of 'To the contrary'
From: GCIDE
- Contrary \Con"tra*ry\, n.; pl. Contraries.
- 1. A thing that is of contrary or opposite qualities. [1913 Webster]
- No contraries hold more antipathy Than I and such a knave. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
- 2. An opponent; an enemy. [Obs.] --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]
- 3. the opposite; a proposition, fact, or condition incompatible with another; as, slender proofs which rather show the contrary. See Converse, n., 1. --Locke. [1913 Webster]
- 4. (Logic) See Contraries. [1913 Webster]
- On the contrary, in opposition; on the other hand. --Swift.
- To the contrary, to an opposite purpose or intent; on the other side. "They did it, not for want of instruction to the contrary." --Bp. Stillingfleet. [1913 Webster]