Library / English Dictionary

CONTRAST

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

The act of distinguishing by comparing differences

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("contrast" is a kind of...):

comparing; comparison (the act of examining resemblances)

Derivation:

contrast (put in opposition to show or emphasize differences)

contrast (to show differences when compared; be different)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The range of optical density and tone on a photographic negative or print (or the extent to which adjacent areas on a television screen differ in brightness)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("contrast" is a kind of...):

ambit; compass; orbit; range; reach; scope (an area in which something acts or operates or has power or control:)

Domain category:

photography; picture taking (the act of taking and printing photographs)

Derivation:

contrasty (having sharp differences between black and white)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The perceptual effect of the juxtaposition of very different colors

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("contrast" is a kind of...):

beholding; seeing; visual perception (perception by means of the eyes)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A conceptual separation or distinction

Example:

there is a narrow line between sanity and insanity

Synonyms:

contrast; demarcation; dividing line; line

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("contrast" is a kind of...):

differentiation; distinction (a discrimination between things as different and distinct on the basis of their characteristics or attributes)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "contrast"):

point of no return; Rubicon (a line that when crossed permits of no return and typically results in irrevocable commitment)

Derivation:

contrast (put in opposition to show or emphasize differences)

contrast (to show differences when compared; be different)

Sense 5

Meaning:

The opposition or dissimilarity of things that are compared

Example:

by contrast

Synonyms:

contrast; direct contrast

Classified under:

Nouns denoting relations between people or things or ideas

Hypernyms ("contrast" is a kind of...):

oppositeness; opposition (the relation between opposed entities)

Derivation:

contrast (put in opposition to show or emphasize differences)

contrast (to show differences when compared; be different)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Put in opposition to show or emphasize differences

Example:

The middle school teacher contrasted her best student's work with that of her weakest student

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Hypernyms (to "contrast" is one way to...):

differentiate; distinguish; secern; secernate; separate; severalise; severalize; tell; tell apart (mark as different)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

contrast (the act of distinguishing by comparing differences)

contrast (a conceptual separation or distinction)

contrast (the opposition or dissimilarity of things that are compared)

Sense 2

Meaning:

To show differences when compared; be different

Example:

the students contrast considerably in their artistic abilities

Synonyms:

contrast; counterpoint

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "contrast" is one way to...):

differ (be different)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "contrast"):

counterbalance; oppose (contrast with equal weight or force)

conflict (be in conflict)

foil (enhance by contrast)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP

Derivation:

contrast (the act of distinguishing by comparing differences)

contrast (a conceptual separation or distinction)

contrast (the opposition or dissimilarity of things that are compared)

contrastive (strikingly different; tending to contrast)

contrastive (of words so related that one contrasts with the other)

Credits

 Context examples: 

In contrast in epithelial cells activation of KSR is required for cell proliferation.

(Ceramide Signaling Pathway BioCarta, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

This contrasts with mosaicism in which the different cell populations are derived from a single individual.

(Chimerism, NCI Thesaurus)

The areas of the brain composed of neurons and (in contrast to the white matter) unmyelinated nerve fibers.

(Brain Gray Matter, NCI Thesaurus)

A method to normalize intensities using the contrasts method, as defined in documents available at http://bioconductor.org/packages/1.9/bioc/html/affy.html

(Bioconductor caAffy Contrasts Normalization, NCI Thesaurus)

This is in contrast to those vaccines produced by "killing" the pathogen (inactivated vaccine).

(Attenuated Bacteria Vaccine, NCI Thesaurus)

This is in contrast to those vaccines produced by killing the pathogen (inactivated vaccine).

(Attenuated Live Vaccine, NCI Thesaurus)

In contrast, turning off the neurons while the mice were awake or in other sleep states had no effect on memory.

(The brain may actively forget during dream sleep, National Institutes of Health)

"By contrast, the anti-tumor property of βGBP is selective and not harmful to normal cells," lead author Professor Livio Mallucci said.

(Molecule in Immune System Able to Trigger 'Suicide' of Cancerous Tumors, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Your chart is one of high contrast and suggests one partner in your life is pushing the relationship to one end or the other of the spectrum.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

The new molten air batteries, by contrast, offer the best of both worlds: a combination of high storage capacity and reversibility.

(New, high-energy rechargeable batteries, NSF)